The Emirates wrote Arab glory in the records of history, through this space scientific mission that was accomplished by one of the righteous sons of the homeland, the Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, embodying the care and forward-looking vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, and His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, and their brothers, Their Highnesses, Members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of the Emirates.
The story of the Emirates with space is not born today. It was a dream of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul. This dream extended over the past five decades and topped the priorities of the national agenda of the wise leadership. In 1976, a delegation of astronauts came to the team responsible for the Apollo 15 flight, and since that time this dream has remained alive in the agenda of the wise leadership, embodied every day in initiatives related to the space sector and investment in it, through the national cadres of whom we are proud, up to Building the first human settlement on the Red Planet in 2117.
This sector has gone through historical stages of achievement that enabled the UAE to reserve a seat for it in the Global Space Club, and the UAE became the fifth country in the world to succeed in reaching the orbit of Mars for the first time, after the “Probe of Hope” managed on the ninth of February of the year 2021. Successfully reaching the Red Planet, and in September 2019 Hazza Al Mansouri became the first Emirati astronaut, and the first Arab astronaut to reach the International Space Station.
The steps of Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, as the first Arab astronaut to spend six months in space, translated this forward-looking vision of the wise leadership, which believed that investing in people is an investment in the future.
The flag of the UAE waving in the midst of space requires us, as parents and educators, to direct young people from an early age to follow the example of these outstanding national models of astronauts, scientists and researchers, who write a new history for all mankind, and draw a road map for a bright tomorrow in which growth, prosperity and development will prevail. Goodness and hope are always for people in different parts of the world.
Secretary General of the Khalifa Educational Award
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