Emirati astronauts gear up for UAE's Analog Mission in November

Emirati astronauts Abdallah Al Hammadi and Saleh Al Ameri are all set to embark on an eight-month-long Analog Mission on November 4.

That's according to a Tweet by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council.

The mission will simulate space-like conditions on Earth.

Officially titled Sirius 20/21, the project will be run in partnership with NASA and the Russian IBMP Institute.

"The UAE Analog Mission is a key step in supporting our Mars 2117 programme, which aims to build the first human settlement on Mars," Sheikh Hamdan added.

An international crew of six people will be sealed inside tubular modules at the NEK experimental complex in Moscow. It'll help measure the psychological and physiological impact on humans living in the extreme environments.

Abdalla AlHammadi and Saleh AlAmeri have been chosen as primary and backup analog astronaut respectively, to participate in the first ever UAE Analog Mission.The 8-month mission, conducted in isolation, starts on November 4th and includes participation from NASA and Russia's IBMP pic.twitter.com/JuE9DQsd56

— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) October 28, 2021