AFP, Abu Dhabi:
An Emirati astronaut who became the first Arab to reach the International Space Station received a hero’s welcome home on Saturday.
Hazzaa al-Mansoori of the United Arab Emirates was greeted by Abu Dhabi’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan at the capital’s airport.
Men, women and children lined a red carpet to welcome back Mansoori and his colleague Sultan al-Neyadi-who underwent the same training and served as a backup astronaut.
Children rushed towards the first Emirati spaceman to present him with flowers and hugs, as a group of men performed the traditional Yola dance.
Although Mansoori’s mission was short-eight days in total-it has been the source of great pride in the UAE, a newcomer to the world of space with ambitions to send an unmanned probe to orbit Mars by 2021.
The 35-year-old former military pilot’s whirlwind mission has had wall-to-wall coverage in Arab media. He returned to Earth on October 3.
Mansoori arrived home on Saturday following a stopover at the Roscosmos training base in Star City outside Moscow.
“This truly has been an international collaboration and I am humbled to have been part of this,” Mansoori tweeted shortly before his arrival.
Mansoori flew to the ISS after the UAE signed a contract with Roscosmos to allow him to become a “spaceflight participant”, a term used for people from outside the main space agencies who take short trips to the station.
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While on board, Mansoori donned Emirati dress, treated crew members to local snacks and participated in scientific experiments including a time-perception study that saw him sport a blindfold.
