Impact more important than records, says Sultan Al Neyadi

The lasting impact of the UAE’s Space Mission is more important than personal records, highlighted astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi at the Crew-6 post-flight press conference on Tuesday.

The spaceman spoke about the importance of getting young people interested and talking about space and how it means more to him than any records.

"Honestly, I don’t think of my mission as a record. Records can be broken easily, but I would love to think of it as a good mission," he said.

"It’s really nice to see youngsters and community overall talking about space and why we do science in space.

Astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi: I am not concerned by records, I am thinking of the impact of the mission on people.#ZayedAmbition pic.twitter.com/sYBwvYaqju

— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) September 12, 2023

"I want to go back and share the experience, and answer some questions. I want to give my perspective to my mission, and I wanted to do that even before my arrival. I was engaging with a lot of people and speaking the Arabic language and trying to explain things in a simple, scientific way," he said. 

What was astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi's experience like while conducting the first Arab spacewalk?#ZayedAmbition pic.twitter.com/Y54CQgZkPR

— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) September 12, 2023

The astronaut also shared his experience of being the first Arab to conduct a spacewalk. "It was great to have that moment to be able to look down to earth and see nothing. The only thing protecting you from dying is a thin glass. We did have some time to take some pictures at the moment."

Al Neyadi and his crewmates are currently in the US undergoing routine checks having returned to Earth earlier this month.