UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi on his arrival in 'beloved UAE' on Monday after a historic six months long space mission.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, was also present at the grand Abu Dhabi International Airport reception for AlNeyadi.

AlNeyadi became the first Arab astronaut in 2023 to successfully complete six months on the International Space Station - under the banner of the “Zayed Ambition 2”mission.

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Earlier today, taking to 'X', the 42-year-old father of six posted a beautiful message about his homecoming with a picture of the UAE team: 'We entrust you to God...to the beloved Emirates'

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The UAE began one of its major space missions in 2023, with the Emirati astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi travelling to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the six-month mission, titled, “Zayed Ambition 2.”

The mission was one of a series of ambitious Emirati missions, which included the launch of MBZ-Sat and the arrival of the Explorer Rashid to the moon.

Zayed Ambition 2, a part of the UAE Astronaut Programme, is a crucial addition to the scientific achievements of the UAE’s space sector and saw AlNeyadi conduct over 200 advanced research experiments and studies that took about 585 hours in collaboration with 10 international space agencies and 25 esteemed UAE and global universities.

It was also the second mission to dispatch Emirati astronauts to the ISS after Hazza Al Mansouri embarked on the UAE's first scientific mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2019.

AlNeyadi also accomplished a number of firsts for a UAE astronaut during this mission, including becoming the first Arab to complete a 7-hour spacewalk.

AlNeyadi further engaged in 19 educational and community outreach events called the "A Call from Space" series, in which over 10,000 people from all walks of life took part and interacted with the Emirati astronaut through live video calls and ham radio sessions.