UAE announces date of historic space mission

The UAE's first astronaut will head into space on September 25.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre made the announcement on Monday, with astronauts in training - Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Neyadi in attendance.

One of them will eventually be chosen for the mission.

The two were introduced to the public for the first time and fielded questions from the media.

Al Mansouri and Neyadi, who were shortlisted from a group of more than 4,000 hopefuls, have been undergoing an intense training programme in Russia.

ARN News spoke to Salem Al Marri, Assistant Director General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.

. @Astro_Hazzaa and @Astro_Alneyadi during the winter survival training organized by the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre at a forest in the Russian capital of Moscow. #UAE pic.twitter.com/TMKZlLFOuV

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 25, 2019