DUBAI – The United Arab Emirates is about to send its first astronaut tospace. That is a step in a budding, ambitious space program for an oil-richcountry the size of Maine along the southern side of Persian Gulf.
Next year, it plans to send a robotic spacecraft to Mars, and its leaderstalk of colonizing the red planet a century from nowlink, NYT has reported.
Emirati officials hope that space will inspire and train a generation ofengineers and scientists who can help prepare the country for a post-oilfuture.
Liftoff is 9:57 a.m. Eastern time. NASA Televisionlink will broadcast coverage ofthe launch beginning at 9 a.m. Three astronauts will travel from aspaceport in Kazakhstan in a Russian Soyuz capsule, the only spacecraft onEarth currently capable of trips to the International Space Station.
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The Soyuz will make a quick six-hour trip to the space station, and NASAwill also cover its scheduled 3:45 p.m. arrival.
