Watch: Two UAE astronauts to graduate from NASA training program on March 5

After an intensive training period that began in January 2022, Al Matrooshi and Al Mulla will complete more than two years of rigorous preparation, making them eligible for various spaceflight assignments. His training covered a wide range of critical skills, including spacewalks, robotics, space station systems, T-38 jet proficiency, and Russian language.

The 2021 class features 10 NASA candidates along with Al Mulla and Al Matrooshi of the United Arab Emirates, who is also the first Arab female astronaut. At the graduation ceremony, each candidate will receive an astronaut pin, which signifies their graduation and qualifies them for future space missions, allowing them to contribute to ongoing and future explorations.

The Emirati astronauts for the second batch of the UAE Astronaut Program were announced in 2021 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. MBRSC had received 4,305 applications for the positions, and the applicants went through several phases of evaluation and qualification in accordance with international standards, before the final two candidates were selected.

The UAE Astronaut Program is one of the projects managed by MBRSC under the UAE National Space Program and funded by the ICT Fund of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), which aims to support research and development in the ICT sector in the UAE. and promote the integration of the country on the global stage.