Dubai, United Arab Emirates -  September 29, 2019:    In his third day aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Emirati astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori, began his day by communicating with the ground station at MBRSC in Dubai, and informing them of his daily schedule. He then spoke to MBRSC again at the end of the day. A live session via radio HAM was organised between AlMansoori and school students and the public, at MBRSC, where the audience had the opportunity to ask questions that were answered by AlMansoori. 

During the radio call, AlMansoori received questions from participants about his daily routine, whether there was enough food at the ISS, how the station was built, how he spent his free time, how he slept, and what astronauts do in case they fall sick.

AlMansoori explained to them that the day starts at 6 GMT, when they receive a daily schedule from the ground stations. “After which, we are given an opportunity to start our personal activities; where we shower and take care of our personal hygiene. Each astronaut aboard the ISS has a different schedule, but we can cooperate on some missions and work together,” said AlMansoori.

“I’m filming everything on the ISS, and these videos will be uploaded to YouTube as well as other communication channels,” added AlMansoori.
“Astronaut food is limited to a specific number of calories for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This number is calculated at the ground stations, and food is then sent accordingly to the ISS every two weeks. However, there is spare food in case of failure in arrival,” highlighted AlMansoori.

AlMansoori stressed that there are medicines for all diseases aboard the station. In case an astronaut falls sick, we communicate with a doctor who is available around the clock at the ground station to prescribe the appropriate medicine. He also noted that the station is currently disease-free.

When asked about how he sleeps, AlMansoori responded, “Some astronauts enjoy sleeping with their bodies attached to a wall in ISS, others enjoy sleeping while floating. As for me, I enjoy sleeping while floating”.

As for how he spends his free time, AlMansoori said that he enjoys looking at the Earth from the ISS during his spare time, and waits until it passes above the UAE, so he can take pictures and share with the ground station.

Checking AlMansoori’s health status

AlMansoori also spoke to Dr. Hanan AlSuwaidi, the flight surgeon for the mission, who is following his medical status throughout his time in space. 

Daily scientific missions

AlMansoori continued working on an experiment on Fluidics (fluid dynamics in space) in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA), to observe how liquids move in weightlessness. After which, he began the experiments involving schools in the UAE as part of MBRSC’s Science in Space initiative. The first phase of the initiative witnessed the participation of nearly 16 schools from the UAE. AlMansoori will also perform three daily experiments to observe the impact of microgravity on seed germination rates, the growth of aquatic organisms, and the oxidisation rates of steel.

Furthermore, AlMansoori will conduct experiments to study Brain DTI, Osteology, motor control, time perception in microgravity, Fluidics (fluid dynamics in space), and DNAm-Age.

Documenting life aboard the ISS

AlMansoori recorded his diary for 15 minutes to document life aboard the ISS and his activities aboard.