UAE's first astronaut Hazza Al Mansoori plans on taking a few personal items to the International Space Station: a family photo and a photograph of UAE's late founder, Sheikh Zayed, meeting three American astronauts in 1976.
The photo of Sheikh Zayed is what inspired Al Mansoori to reach for great heights and explore beyond Earth.
The first Emirati astronaut was speaking at a press conference in Houston, along with his crewmates Jessica Meir and Oleg Skripochka.
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"As you know no one has gone to space for a long time from the Arab world," he said.
"We are going for a scientific mission and to explore further about mankind. Our mission is to explore space as well and our focus is to learn more about mankind and potentially go to Mars.
"On this mission, I will take family photo and our leadership photo, which really inspired me to come here. Today, I'm living my dream and it's something I want to represent for my country. When I'm there, I will be taking photos of Dubai's Palm Jumeirah and the Mecca in Saudi Arabia and I will bring that back to my country."
This article has been adapted from its original source.
