UAE astronaut Hazzaa’s makes final video call before returning to Earth

With a couple of days left before Hazzaa AlMansoori returns to Earth, he made his final video call with the public aboard International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, October 1.

Hundreds of students across the country again trooped to the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) to see and hear the first Emirati astronaut share his historic sojourn at the space lab.

Wearing a blue Sokol space suit, a smiling Hazzaa appeared on the screen at 4.15pm and questions were fired one by one by the students.

“How do you pray? How do you do ablution before praying? What time do you pray?,” a young student asked. To which, Hazzaa relplied that time is relative in Space and prayer timing is also relative to the speed they are traveling

With the ISS revolving around the Earth at speeds of up to 28,000 km per hour, an astronaut will see in one Earth-day, or in a span of 24 hours, at least 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets from the ISS. This means, one day at the ISS is equivalent only to 90 minutes rather than 24 hours on Earth.

Hazzaa, however, is doing the required daily prayers based on the advice by religious experts. Prior to his space flight, Hazzaa was handed a copy of a guide book titled “Estimating Prayer and Fasting Times for ISS Astronauts” by specialist in Times and Crescents Science, Hamad Mohammed Saleh, a senior researcher at the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai (IACAD).

Hazzaa added that he is looking towards the Earth while he is praying. A video of him praying and doing ablution in Space will be shared soon.

Khaleej Times