Mashable: Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan announced the space mission for 2024

UAE’s first female astronaut Nora Al Matrooshi will head to space next year.

The Crown Prince of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum recently announced new ventures for UAE’s space sector.

On October 2, 2023, Sheikh Hamdan who is also the Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) confirmed that the new space missions of the United Arab Emirates will take place in 2024.

Taking to his official X account, formerly Twitter, Sheikh Hamdan revealed that he chaired a meeting of the Dubai-based Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and offered an update on the Emirate’s ambitious space exploration future plans.

I chaired a board meeting of the @MBRSpaceCentre and laid out the blueprint for new ambitious initiatives.

The next phase of our journey will see groundbreaking Emirati space ventures.

We aim to be a major player in shaping the future of space exploration.

We seek to raise the… pic.twitter.com/BcZGofmOMS

— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) October 2, 2023
H.E. Hamad Obaid AlMansoori, Chairman, MBRSC: The messages of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, and President of MBRSC, are a roadmap for the future of the UAE space sector. pic.twitter.com/AZQLdNmnZV

— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) October 2, 2023
H.E. Salem Humaid AlMarri, Director General, MBRSC: Under the leadership of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, and President of MBRSC, we will continue to pursue and achieve ambitious goals. pic.twitter.com/RWJmNuhORq

— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) October 2, 2023
The Dubai Crown Prince revealed that UAE's first female astronaut Nora Al Matrooshi is ready to embark on a space mission. Sheikh Hamdan confirmed that Emirati astronaut Nora Al Matrooshi along with Mohammed Al Mulla will jet off to space in 2024 after graduation.

Nora Al Matrooshi hails from the emirate of Sharjah. She was announced as the UAE’s first female astronaut in April 2021 and was selected to train with the NASA Astronaut Group 23.

Nora Al Matrooshi alongside her colleague Mohammed Al Mulla has been training at the NASA Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas since January 2022. The duo will reportedly graduate next year.

Latest images of Nora Al Matrooshi, UAE's first woman astronaut, receiving her spacewalk training at the NBL in Houston.
Image Credits: @SarwatNasir pic.twitter.com/cUjodTDPh6

— Scientia Magazine (@MagScientia) August 14, 2023
Sheikh Hamdan also laid out the blueprint of the Gulf country’s future space missions.

Besides revealing that the new space mission will see two astronauts heading to space next year, Sheikh Hamdan also shared updates on other upcoming space missions including the launch of a satellite, MBZ-Sat and a Moon exploration, Rashid Rover 2 project.

Meanwhile, the success of Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi’s space mission has paved the way for various space explorations for the Arab world. The 42-year-old astronaut completed the longest Arab space mission for six months in history and became the first Arab to participate in a spacewalk.