The UAE has selected two new Emiratis to be part of its astronaut corps, including the Arab world’s first female astronaut.
The 4,305 applicants were chosen based on age and educational background. A total of 2,099 candidates then passed the IQ, personality and technical assessments.
Only 122 made it to the interview round. Of these, 61 candidates took part in preliminary and advanced medical examinations.
Fourteen passed a final round of interviews and evaluations, which the UAE’s first two astronauts and two female Nasa astronauts participated in.
Four candidates passed fitness, communications and teamwork tests, from whom the new astronauts were selected.
Salem Al Marri, head of the astronaut programme at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (Mbrsc), said the space centre’s goal was pick the best out of the lot.
“The team at Mbrsc has worked tirelessly after receiving applications to evaluate them according to specific criteria and standards, and then conducted successive evaluations to ensure the selection of the best candidates, until we reached this point to announce the new astronauts,” he said.
Credit : The National News
Picture Credit : Google
