A Closer Look: How Hazza Al Mansouri's trip to space sparked the Emirati programme

We hear from The National's Space Editor, Sarwat Nasir

In A Closer Look, The National provides an in-depth take on one of the main stories of the week

Five years ago, Hazza Al Mansouri made history by becoming the first Emirati to venture into space.

Blasting off from Kazakhstan on September 25, 2019, the astronaut kicked off what would quickly become the UAE's vastly impressive space programme.

Shortly after his week-long mission, the UAE's Hope probe was launched, followed by notable events such as the second Emirati in space, Dr Sultan Al Neyadi – who became first Arab to perform a spacewalk – and the attempted landing of the Rashid Rover.

Here, host Sarah Forster speaks to The National's Space Editor Sarwat Nasir about watching that historic launch first hand and the rapid progress made since.

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