Mashable: Astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi described the moment as ‘a beautiful surprise’

Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi received a beautiful surprise from his father aboard the ISS.

The United Arab Emirates-based astronaut recently participated in “A Call from Space” event from the orbiting space laboratory, the International Space Station.

On Thursday, August 3, 2023, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) in partnership with the Louvre Abu Dhabi organized a live session with the Arab astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi.

The “Sultan of Space” interacted with a diverse audience in the live session at the Abu Dhabi edition of “A Call from Space”.

The live interactive session saw the attendance of government officials, students, as well as space enthusiasts who were keen to interact with the “Sultan of Space”.

The real-time interactive session with the proud Emirati representative in space was also attended by the Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan at the Louvre.

However, Sultan Al Neyadi received a huge and unexpected surprise. The astronaut’s father also attended the as well as spoke to him.

The 42-year-old astronaut was delighted to speak with his father from space. Sultan was clearly overjoyed as he received a surprise call from his father who wished him “best of luck.”

Sultan Al Neyadi thanked whoever arranged this call and described the moment as “a beautiful surprise”

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) shared several images and videos from the successful interaction session.

The event reportedly saw 300 guests in which Dr Al Neyadi answered several questions about life in space, the different experiments he conducted, and his time on the International Space Station.

Sultan Al Neyadi has embarked on the Arab world’s longest space mission since March 2023 along with his Crew-6 members. The astronaut will return to Earth in just a few weeks.