Emirati astronaut Al Mansoori completes final tests

Emirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansoori has completed a mock mission ahead of his historic eight-day space expedition next month.

The main and backup crews for the September 25 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) completed their final tests on Saturday.

It marks the end of the mandatory two-day exam for astronauts and cosmonauts at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in the Star City, near Moscow.

The main crew underwent a final exam on the Soyuz flight while the backup crew were evaluated on the Russian segment of the ISS.

Mansoori was joined by back-up astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, and his crewmates - Nasa astronaut Jessica Meir and Russian commander Oleg Skripochka.

The Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft is set to blast off to the International Space Station (ISS) on September 25 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.