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The Mohamed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) announced the first batch of UAE simulated astronauts.
Abdallah AlHammadi and Saleh AlAmeri will be part of simulation mission #1 in the UAE. The mission is part of the SIRIUS 20/21 Scientific International Study of the Unique Ground Station (SIRIUS), an eight-month simulation mission that will be carried out at the NEK ground simulation facility in Moscow, Russia later this year.
Candidates (one primary and one reserve) will be part of the mission’s CrewONE team. The mission will study the effects of isolation and confinement on human psychology, physiology, and team dynamics to help prepare for long-term space exploration.
Abdullah Hamadi
For the past 17 years, he has been a member of the UAE Armed Forces and is currently the crew chief of the maintenance department.
He holds a basic degree in aerospace engineering from Manchester Metropolitan University and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Abu Dhabi.
Saleh Al Ameri
Saleh AlAmeri holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Khalifa University and is a certified vibration analyst at the Mobius Institute. With more than six years of experience in his field, AlAmeri is currently working as a mechanical engineer at ADNOC.
AlAmeri’s team won the second place in the 2015 Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge and designed the first solar car in the Arab world with a mileage of 1,200 kilometers.
Selection process
MBRSC has received 172 job applications, and applicants have gone through various stages of evaluation. Women accounted for 62% of the candidates, with the youngest being a 25-year-old woman and the largest being a 40-year-old man.
The two successful candidates were selected based on subsequent selection rounds and interviews.
Simulation astronauts are currently undergoing internal training, which includes training on experiments proposed by major researchers from local universities and Russian training in preparation for the SIRIUS 20/21 mission.
Isolation task
The SIRIUS series is an international mission that will be carried out at the NEK facility in Moscow, the main purpose of which is to understand the impact of isolation and confinement on the human body.
As part of the mission, crew members are isolated and assigned certain tasks, and they need to complete these tasks without communicating with the outside world. The mission simulates the various stages and scenarios of a manned Mars mission, including launch, orbit, landing, and return.
The SIRIUS program is characterized by a multicultural crew who may undertake sustainable missions to Mars or other space exploration missions. These tasks are indispensable for a comprehensive understanding of human body responses during isolation and the effects of isolation on the bodies of people in enclosed spaces.
The UAE’s participation in the SIRIUS mission will play a key role in developing the UAE’s capabilities and contribute to the development of the Mars 2117 program, which aims to establish a human colony on this red planet by 2117.
A new era of space exploration
MBRSC Director General Yousuf Hamad AlShaibani said: “We are entering a new era of space exploration in the UAE, and we are proud that Abdallah AlHammadi and Saleh AlAmeri have joined our MBRSC team to further our pursuit in this field.
“The UAE’s participation in the simulation mission also reaffirms and continues the rich legacy of our collaborative efforts, which will help to benefit mankind and ensure the continued growth of the global space economy.”
Adnan AlRais, Project Manager of MBRSC Mars 2117, said: “The simulation mission is a vital project, which is essential to maintain the safety and health of astronauts during long-term spaceflights. Through our participation, we will be able to help understand this The science behind the mission will contribute. It will also provide key data to help us carry out more ambitious space exploration challenges, including the Mars 2117 program.”
Research from UAE University selected as mission
A total of 15 universities from the UAE submitted research papers, and five of them were selected from four universities.
A proposed study selected for this task comes from the Muhammad bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences. It focuses on understanding how long-term exposure to a simulated spatial environment affects the interaction of cardiovascular variability and cardiac posture.
A research topic selected from the University of Sharjah presented a study to describe the effect of stress caused by restraint and isolation during the mission on the circulation and skeletal muscle function of the crew.
Other topics selected for the mission include the study of the American University of Sharjah on the relief of mental stress in isolated and enclosed environments; and the study of the United Arab Emirates University on the psychological challenges of isolation during manned spaceflight.
Sahem Salem
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