Astronaut’s history-making mission is the latest step for a nation with grand space ambitions

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Astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi levitated upside down while excitedly waving a microphone in the air and laughed when asked if he’d ever seen aliens.

“Not yet,” he replied, before pulling out a blue stuffed animal in a space suit. “But everyone thinks Sohail (the toy) is an alien. So if he’s an alien, then yes.”

Hailing from the United Arab Emirates, Al Neyadi, nicknamed the “Sultan of Space,” has spent three months delighting and teaching scores of schoolchildren across the Gulf state about the wonders of the universe via video link – all while traveling hundreds of miles floated away on the International Space Station.

When not entertaining Earthlings, Al Neyadi spends his days making repairs to the perimeter lab and Conducting experiments for NASA. He was already the first Arab to be deployed on a long-term space mission, and in April also became the first Arab astronaut to spacewalk. The purpose of the spacewalk was to update the ISS power channels and it lasted seven hours.

“I didn’t feel it because I was really focused on the mission, and it was (a) really great feeling just to see that you’re floating in a space suit,” Al Neyadi told CNN’s Becky Anderson. “It’s like a little spaceship. It cleans and cools the oxygen and CO2, and what keeps you from dying is just a little layer of glass.”

Al Neyadi’s mission is just the latest space-related milestone for the United Arab Emirates, a nation fast becoming the leading power in galactic exploration of the Arabian world. CNN has dialed into the ISS from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) in Dubai, which has become the incubator for the Gulf state’s ambitions in the cosmos.

Founded in 2006, MBRSC launched its first satellite in 2009 and the first orbital entirely built in the United Arab Emirates, KhalifaSat, in 2018. Its highlight so far was the Hope Probe in 2021, the first Arab mission to Mars. And MBRSC plans to launch its largest satellite to date, the MBZ-SAT, next year.

This space investment is not about curiosity about the cosmos – it is part of a broader plan to build the UAE’s post-oil economy. In a fast-paced international space race in which superpowers like the United States and China compete, strategic vision is vital.

“Our goal is always to deliver on those exciting projects that really put the UAE at the forefront of exploration,” MBRSC Director General Salem Al Marri told CNN during a tour of the facilities. “It’s about data. They say the new gold or the new oil is data.”

The programs there are part of a burgeoning global space industry that McKinsey says is currently worth about half a trillion dollars and will double by 2030. Satellites sent into space by the United Arab Emirates can already track data on issues such as climate change and urban growth, while technology is being used elsewhere to improve internet speeds and credit card transaction processing.

“So if you’re tracking cars, if you’re looking at airplanes, environmental purposes or whatever, there are hundreds if not thousands of applications you can use with an image,” Al Marri said.

Al Marri is particularly excited about the potential of UAE-built satellites, including KhalifaSat and the soon-to-be-launched MBZ-SAT. The nation doesn’t just want to launch the orbitals, they want to build an industry around them.

“The beauty of this satellite is that it was designed entirely by our team here,” Al Marri said of the MBZ-SAT. “All project management, every single part you see here, is designed and project led by our team.”

Over the past decade, the nature of space exploration has changed dramatically. While it was once the purview of governments and national programs, more recently private corporations and billionaires have taken it upon themselves to push the boundaries of what humans know about the universe — especially as monetizing the cosmos becomes more feasible becomes.

“Space is largely run by government, so there is a lot of government investment due to the need for satellites like this. But that doesn’t mean the private sector can’t drive development,” Al Marri said. “In a country like the UAE, this is government funded, it is government overseen, but the private sector is now building it.”

Not only satellites are a potential goldmine – space tourism is also a new field. Elon Musk’s Space X and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have already given tourists a glimpse of the cosmos. And just this week, Virgin Galactic launched its first commercial manned spaceflight.

The UAE will also soon be exploring this area of ​​the industry.

“I think space tourism is a way for the general public, or at least the very wealthy general public, to get a taste of zero gravity and be part of the space industry,” Al Marri said. “The UAE could play a role there.”