DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The UAE is a small country with big ambitions. Possibly, nowhere is that clearer than in its space program, which has already sent two astronauts to space and has a satellite probing the atmosphere around Mars.
The country, a little over 50 years old, marked a milestone on Monday after Emirati astronaut Sultan Alneyadi splashed down to Earth in a SpaceX capsule following six months aboard the International Space Station. It marked the longest space mission by an Arab astronaut. He also became the first person from the Middle East to conduct a space walk outside the ISS.
