How Sultan Al Neyadi starts the day in space with a coffee

Emirati astronaut will answer questions from the public on Tuesday in the first of live calls from the ISS

Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi shows how he makes coffee on the International Space Station. Screengrab/Twitter

UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi has given an insight into how he starts his day in space with a coffee.

Dr Al Neyadi, 41, shared a video on Twitter on Monday showing how he made his morning drink on his first morning on board the International Space Station.

“We have a variety of options but today I'm choosing Colombian medium roast coffee”, he says, as a case containing the drinks floats in zero gravity.

He places a thin silver package containing the coffee on to the water dispenser and 250ml of water starts to pour into the package, which doubles as a cup for the coffee.

Lastly, he pulls out a straw that allows him to drink the coffee.

Dr Al Neyadi is the second Emirati to travel to space and the second Arab to board the ISS.

During his time there he will take part in more than 200 experiments assigned by Nasa and 19 involving UAE universities.

On Wednesday, he shared a video on Twitter discussing the tests he will be involved in.

“For more than 20 years, humans have been carrying out experiments on board the International Space Station,” he said.

“I am at the Columbus laboratory and we are doing experiments on substances and liquids, as well as on plant cultivation.”

Columbus is a pressurised lab on the ISS, which Nasa says allows researchers on the ground, aided by the station’s crew, to conduct research in a weightless environment.

He said such experiments are important to improve the quality of human life.

On Tuesday, Dr Al Neyadi will take part in the first of a series of live calls from the ISS where he will field questions from members of the public.

The calls will take place at various venues across all seven emirates.

The first will be at the Dubai Opera on Tuesday, the emirate's media office said on Friday.

Sultan Al Neyadi's life on the International Space Station — in pictures