With the UAE’s first-ever astronauts in the final stages of preparation before their history-making trip to the International Space Station later this month, there’s a new documentary airing in the UAE that will bring you closer to the men embarking on the country’s boldest mission to date.
We now know that the country’s first astronaut, Hazza Al Mansoori, is due to travel to the International Space Station on Wednesday September 25 at exactly 5.56pm (GST), taking off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
And National Geographic Abu Dhabi has announced that the first film about the UAE Space Program is set to air at 8pm on Thursday evening (September 19).
The first episode in the four-part series will document the mission and the journey of Hazzaa Al Mansoori, who has the honour of being the first Emirati to travel into space. It will show the astronaut, and his backup colleague Sultan Al Neyadi, making final preparations for the launch, including training flights in Russia, having completed previous training with the European Space Agency and NASA.
The film will also detail the mission of the Hope Probe, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre-led true-weather satellite heading to Mars in 2020, with the aim of sending back valuable information to Earth for further study of the Red Planet.
The show premieres on National Geographic at 8pm in the UAE on Thursday September 19, with further airings on Sunday September 22 and Monday 23.
For more information, head to www.natgeotv.com/ae
