Sultan Al Neyadi expresses desire to return to space

UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi has said he would like to return to space in the future and thanked those who made his six-month expedition possible.

He was speaking during a NASA press conference, alongside other members of Crew-6.

The spaceman spoke of his gratitude to the team working behind the scenes that made his historic six-month space mission possible and said he would return to space - without hesitation.

Astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi thanks all the teams that worked on the mission and confirms his desire to return to space in the future.#ZayedAmbition pic.twitter.com/2sFfvQdMH9

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

"Definitely I want to go to space [again]," he said. "If I get to travel with you guys again, definitely I would go with you," he added, speaking to his fellow Crew-6 members.

Al Neyadi also said how adapting to gravity upon his return presented unexpected challenges. 

Astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi talks about the experience of readapting to Earth's gravity after returning from space.#ZayedAmbition pic.twitter.com/rQEMYQBSR0

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

"Everything feels really heavy. I remember Steve [Bowen] handing me a bottle of water, it felt really heavy. I didn’t drink it because I didn’t want to move a lot.

"It’s amazing how quickly you can get better, it’s by the hour. You start moving your arms, standing, moving your legs. It’s amazing how you do recover but it’s not easy, you might have difficulty walking or have motion sickness.

"This is a good opportunity to thank everybody in the recovery team, flight surgeons, rehabilitation facilities to make us get back to normal as quickly as possible."