UAE

UAE’s First Female Astronaut Trains for Spacewalks in Massive Indoor Pool

Nora Al Matrooshi, the UAE’s first woman astronaut, is undergoing rigorous training in one of the world’s largest indoor pools to prepare for future spacewalks.

Together with her colleague Mohammed Al Mulla, the duo is gearing up to take on the challenges of extravehicular activities (EVAs), which is the technical term for spacewalks. The training is part of the UAE’s space programme.

Recent images captured Al Matrooshi, 30, and Al Mulla, 34, donned in their Extravehicular Mobility Unit, which weighs 145 kilograms. The suit was worn by astronauts to execute spacewalks.

This training is being executed within a vast pool of 2.3 million litres of water at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory located in Houston, Texas.

Al Matrooshi and Al Mulla has emerged as one of the newest members of the UAE’s astronaut corps, which now has four accomplished individuals.

The two astronauts will continue the legacy established by Hazza Al Mansouri, the UAE’s first man in space who spent eight days aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019, and Sultan Al Neyadi, the incumbent occupant of the ISS.

Al Neyadi has indelibly marked history by conducting the first spacewalk by an Arab astronaut during his six-month tenure, and his imminent return to Earth is slated for this month.

“Proud of our Emirati astronauts Mohammed Al Mulla and Nora Al Matrooshi who are undergoing their spacewalk training,” Salem Al Marri, the director general of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre said.

“These training [programmes] are part of the main preparations that they are pursuing at NASA for future missions. We are confident in their abilities and in our ambitious youth, who are constantly aiming for unparalleled success. Sultan conducted the first Arab spacewalk, but it surely won’t be the last,” Al Marri added.

Although Al Matrooshi and Al Mulla have yet to receive their assigned missions, they are actively participating in a rigorous NASA training programme that will render them eligible for NASA-led missions upon their anticipated graduation early next year.

This comprehensive two-and-a-half-year training programme serves to acquaint them with the multifaceted challenges and prerequisites associated with space travel.

Notable components encompass experiencing zero-gravity conditions, mastering the intricacies of ISS systems, learning the Russian language, wilderness survival training, robotics, and spacewalk proficiency.

While the frequency of missions to the ISS is projected to be every three to four years, the ISS itself is expected to retire by the end of this decade.

To fill this gap, private enterprises such as Axiom Space and Blue Origin have strategised the construction of commercial space stations capable of accommodating government astronauts.

UAE’s lunar aspirations and astronaut training

Moreover, the UAE is aspiring to send Emirati explorers to the Moon in due course. A vital element of their preparation for the ambitious endeavour involves intensive training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory pool, which offers an experience similar to weightlessness.

Astronauts routinely venture beyond the ISS’s confines for extensive periods of seven to eight hours, as this training becomes indispensable for maintaining the spacecraft.

A key aspect of the training programme involves a meticulously designed mock-up of the ISS positioned beneath the pool’s surface.

This artificial environment allows astronauts to simulate various tasks and actions they will be required to execute during their space missions.

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Arabian Business
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