Sultan Al Neyadi Wiki, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Sultan Al Neyadi is an Emirati astronaut and a member of the UAE Armed Forces who became the second person from the UAE to go to space and the first person from the country to serve on a long-term mission onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and conduct a spacewalk.

Wiki/Biography

Sultan Saif Muftah Hamad Al Neyadi was born on Saturday, 23 May 1981 (age 42 years; as of 2023) in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. His zodiac sign is Gemini.

Neyadi completed his schooling at Um Ghafa Primary Boys School and Um Ghafa Secondary School in UAE after which he moved to the United Kingdom. There, he earned a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications engineering with honours at the University of Brighton in 2004. Thereafter, he moved back to the UAE, where he enrolled at the Zayed II Military College to pursue further studies. Later, he joined the UAE Armed Forces and served in it as a network security and communications engineer. In 2008, he shifted to Australia, where he enrolled at Griffith University and pursued a master’s degree in information and network security and a PhD in Information Technology (Data Leakage Prevention). As a PhD student, Sultan published more than six research papers. ^[1]Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 9″

Weight (approx.): 65 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Dark Brown

Family

Sultan Al Neyadi belongs to a Muslim family in the UAE.

Parents & Siblings

His father, Saif Al Neyadi, served in the UAE Armed Forces.

Wife & Children

Sultan Al Neyadi is married and has six kids. Two of his sons are named Rashid Sultan Saif AlNeyadi and Abdalla Sultan AlNeyadi.

Religion

Neyadi follows Islam.

Signature/Autograph

Career

Astronaut Training

Application and Initial Training

The UAE government initiated an astronaut program in 2017 intending to create the country’s first Astronaut Corps. Over 4000 individuals submitted applications for this program. In September 2018, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, announced that Sultan Al Neyadi and Major Al Mansouri were shortlisted out of all the applicants to undergo astronaut training at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai. After the completion of their initial training in UAE in 2019, Mansouri and Neyadi were sent to Russia, where they underwent astronaut training at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre at Star City in Moscow for a year.

Advanced Training with NASA

After completing their training in Russia, in 2020, they were sent to Houston, Texas, where the duo were given an additional six months of training under the 2018 Implementing Arrangement (IA) signed between the UAE and NASA. They received training in operating devices and machinery, handling low-pressure and ammonia leaks, and extinguishing fires onboard the International Space Station (ISS). They also underwent training in severe cold weather and practised routine activities like food preparation. Additionally, they learned how to operate cameras for event documentation and Earth photography from space, along with communication skills for interacting with ground stations. Altogether, they completed over 90 courses with a total of over 1,400 training hours.

Thereafter, Al Neyadi and Al Mansouri initiated training at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) in Houston, Texas. Their training was regarding adapting to the microgravity encountered during space travel, mastering the operation of an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), acquiring skills for ISS maintenance, undergoing Incapacitated Crew Rescue (ICR) exercises, and participating in both theoretical and practical training sessions involving a T-38 jet.

Following 20 months of training, the duo received the NASA astronaut’s badge, confirming their successful completion of basic training and eligibility for space missions. Afterwards, they went to Canada, where they were taught how to operate the ISS’ robotic arm which helps in receiving cargo sent from Earth.

Astronaut Career

Reaching The ISS

In 2019, the UAE government declared that Major Al Mansouri was picked as the first Emirati astronaut for a mission to the ISS. Additionally, Neyadi was made Mansouri’s alternative, meaning that Neyadi would take Mansouri’s place in the space mission if Mansouri could not participate for any reason. On 25 July 2022, Neyadi was chosen to participate as a Mission Specialist 1 in the International Space Station’s Expedition 69 as part of Nasa’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission. The mission was UAE’s first long-term mission to the space. After getting selected, Neyadi said,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Your Highness. My selection as the first Arab astronaut for a long-duration mission is a great honour and responsibility that I accept with a strong desire to raise the UAE flag high in space once more.”

He boarded SpaceX’s rocket Dragon on 2 March 2023 at the Kennedy Space Center in the US and reached the ISS on 3 March 2023 at around 6:40 a.m. UTC.

Experiments At The ISS

At ISS, Neyadi’s team conducted more than 250 experiments out of which he was a part of more than 20 experiments. According to sources, Neyadi volunteered to be a subject in numerous experiments that were conducted onboard the ISS. In an interview, he talked about it and said,

We are subjects ourselves. We’ll have a lot of sensors on us when we do experiments. These machines log our sleep, our vascular activities, breathing and so on. There is radiation in space and loosening of muscles. How do we control (or mitigate) these things are also part of our medical experiments.”

A photo of Neyadi taken while he was conducting a research on microbes onboard the ISS

He participated in research efforts to assist NASA in preparing for moon missions and other exploratory missions into deep space. His team also performed tests on fluidics (examining fluid dynamics in space) as well as analyzing how materials burn and react in microgravity and various atmospheric conditions. He also contributed to the study of the rhythmic motion of heart tissue in space as well as the development of state-of-the-art technology for 3D-printing human organs.

Look how fluids behave in closed confines in microgravity.
I am currently working on a study on fluid dynamics in space.🧪 This will help us understand wave turbulence on liquid surfaces as well as sloshing in spacecraft tanks, which improves fuel delivery systems in satellites. pic.twitter.com/vYNyxV1Is8

— Sultan AlNeyadi (@Astro_Alneyadi) August 18, 2023

In April 2023, he became the first astronaut from the UAE to conduct a spacewalk, which took place for approximately seven hours on the starboard side of the ISS. He returned to Earth from the ISS in September 2023.

Facts/Trivia

• His name is also spelt as Sultan AlNeyadi and Sultan Al-Neyadi.

• Sultan Al Neyadi is very active on social media. He frequently shared updates from the International Space Station (ISS), keeping his followers and supporters informed about space events. Additionally, he uploaded images of various countries captured from space, sending them well wishes on various occasions.

नमस्ते | નમસ્તે | നമസ്കാരം | నమస్కారం | سلام | வணக்கம் | নমস্কার | ನಮಸ್ತೆ | ନମସ୍କାର | ਸਤਿ ਸ਼੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ | নমস্কাৰ 🙏
To all Indians around the world, Happy Independence Day from the International Space Station! Sharing with you a capture of India's capital, New Delhi, from space.🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/wBPfVAumR1

— Sultan AlNeyadi (@Astro_Alneyadi) August 15, 2023

• He is a trained Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter and has taken part in numerous martial arts competitions in the UAE. He won a medal at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour 2017-2018. Neyadi also practised martial arts onboard the ISS and often posted pictures and videos of him practising jiu-jitsu on social media.
  

  Neyadi with his medal (in the middle) posing for a photo at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour 2017-2018

  

  A photo of Sultan Al Neyadi taken while he was performing Brazilian jiu-jitsu

• He likes to read, and his favourite comic series is The Adventures of Tintin.
  

  A picture of Sultan taken while he was reading The Adventures of Tintin

• He became a member of the astronaut panel of the Human Spaceflight Programme in Bengaluru in January 2020.
  

  Sultan Al Neyadi being felicitated by the Human Spaceflight Programme’s members

• Sultan Al Neyadi was invited to attend the 2021 International Astronautical Congress.

• At ISS, Sultan Al Neyadi often posted videos and photos of himself working out.
  

  Sultan Neyadi while exercising at the ISS