Dubai: Another feather in Sultan Al Neyadi's cap was earned to be called the first Arab astronaut to walk in space after he completed a 7-hour-long spacewalk with NASA astronaut Steve Bowen, and was named the first Arab astronaut to go on a long-term mission in space.
Bowen and Al Neyadi carried out a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) where they installed cables and insulation on the station's "starboard truss" for the upcoming installation of the next pair of ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs).
Four iROSAs have already been installed on the space station, and two more will be mounted on the platforms installed by Al Neyadi and Bowen. Additionally, the astronauts were able to free up an electronics box containing a communications antenna, which will be removed during a future spacewalk before it is returned to Earth.
Al Neyadi was thrilled to be chosen as the first Arab astronaut to undertake a spacewalk and sees it as a great honour and responsibility. He tweeted on April 6 that he looks forward to representing his country and continuing the exceptional journey started by generations of astronauts before him.
Although Al Neyadi is not the first Arab or Emirati astronaut to travel to space, as that honour belongs to Hazza Al Mansoori who spent eight days on the space station in 2019, he is the first Arab and Emirati astronaut on a long-term mission to the ISS. Al Neyadi is expected to remain on board the space station until September 2023.