The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) declared today that astronauts Nora AlMatrooshi and Mohammad AlMulla, from the second batch of the UAE Astronaut Programme, successfully completed the 2021 NASA Astronaut Candidate Class training programme on March 5 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA. Following an intensive training period that commenced in January 2022, AlMatrooshi and AlMulla concluded over two years of rigorous preparation, rendering them eligible for various spaceflight assignments.
Their training covered an extensive range of critical skills, including spacewalking, robotics, space station systems, T-38 jet proficiency, and Russian language. The 2021 class comprised ten NASA candidates alongside the UAE’s AlMulla and AlMatrooshi, who also holds the distinction of being the first female Arab astronaut. During the graduation ceremony, each candidate received an astronaut pin, symbolizing their graduation and qualifying them for future space missions, enabling them to contribute to ongoing and forthcoming explorations.
The Emirati astronauts for the second batch of the UAE Astronaut Programme were unveiled in 2021 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. MBRSC received 4,305 applications for the positions, with applicants undergoing several phases of evaluation and qualification according to international standards, before the final two candidates were chosen.
The UAE Astronaut Programme is among the projects managed by MBRSC under the UAE’s National Space Programme, funded by the ICT Fund of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA). This initiative aims to bolster research and development in the ICT sector in the UAE and elevate the country’s presence on the global stage.