Emirati pilot Shareef Al Romaithi is about to start a 45-day Mars simulation mission inside a Nasa habitat on Friday, the place he and his three crew mates will stay and work in near-isolation.
Mr Romaithi, 39, a captain with Etihad Airways, will spend his time finishing up digital walks on the floor of Mars and utilizing synthetic intelligence to resolve numerous upkeep issues which will come up on their “spaceship” throughout their journey to the Pink Planet.
He and his three American colleagues are a part of the second part of Nasa’s Human Exploration Analysis Analogue (Hera) mission, which takes place in a three-storey habitat in Houston, Texas.
The programme is supposed to uncover insights into the psychological and physiological results of extended confinement and isolation, much like these skilled throughout prolonged area journey.
Mr Romaithi, a father of three ladies, mentioned throughout a web based media briefing on Thursday that he was wanting ahead to “strolling on Mars”.
“I’ve two favorite research – the primary one is digital walks on the floor of Mars,” he mentioned.
“I am designated as one of many analogue astronauts who might be conducting walks, as in comparison with the opposite two, who might be finishing up drone operations.
“I prefer it as a result of it permits me to work together with my crew members similar to astronauts in area would do.”
The crew members might be utilizing digital actuality headsets to carry out most of their duties and might be experiencing delays whereas speaking with mission management, much like what astronauts are anticipated to expertise throughout precise deep-space journeys.
Confined area with no privateness
Whereas every member can have their very own tiny dwelling area, there might be no doorways within the Hera habitat, which measures 60.39 sq. metres and is break up between two flooring and a loft.
There are workspaces, a laboratory, a kitchen and an airlock on the decrease stage, whereas the higher stage has 4 personal crew sleeping quarters, a rest room and a flight deck.
The small dwelling space wouldn’t be an issue for Mr Romaithi, who mentioned he’s used to working from a confined area due to his expertise as a pilot.
“The flight deck is a comparatively small workspace and I won’t be in there for 45 days, however I am normally there for fairly a very long time, particularly throughout lengthy flights. We will be sitting in there for greater than 10 hours,” he mentioned.
“So, it has ready me mentally by working in a confined area.
“We’re additionally working with a extremely various workforce in any common flight. My crew members will be between eight to 10 completely different nationalities, which has ready me for this mission.”
Mr Al Romaithi has a stellar profession within the airline business, with greater than 16 years of expertise as a pilot.
The Abu Dhabi native has greater than 9,000 flight hours, together with on a number of Airbus and Boeing plane.
He earned a doctorate in aviation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical College on the age of 31, which made him the youngest and eighth graduate to achieve a doctorate in aviation on the time.
‘I’ll miss my daughters’
With restricted cupboard space out there, Mr Romaithi will solely be carrying necessities with him into the habitat, together with an image of daughters, a UAE flag and a board sport.
“As a father of three little ladies, in fact, I’ll miss watching them develop,” he mentioned.
“The eldest is 16 months and the opposite two are twins – they’re nearly two months and a half, so they are going by means of lots of adjustments and I might be lacking all of this.”
Contact with household and mates in the course of the mission is proscribed, with crew members solely having the chance to ship and obtain messages at sure intervals.
Strict day by day routine
The crew members are going to remain busy with a strict routine that they must observe, with their days beginning at 7am and ending at 11pm.
They’ll stay occupied finishing up medical checks, digital walks on the Martian floor, exercising and spending time collectively as a workforce.
Six universities within the UAE are additionally taking part on this mission and have despatched experiments for Mr Romaithi to hold out.
“There may even be unscheduled emergency occasions that we must take care of to make sure the success of the mission,” mentioned Mr Romaithi.
Throughout free time, the crew members might train, learn books, socialise with their colleagues or play board video games.
Extra simulation missions underneath means
Mr Al Romaithi is a part of the second group of volunteers to take part in an analogue examine in Hera this 12 months.
They’ll exit the habitat, or “begin their return to Earth”, on June 24.
The primary part was accomplished in March. The third and fourth phases will happen in August and November.
Adnan Al Rais, one of many assistant director-generals on the Mohammed bin Rashid Area Centre, expressed hope that extra Emiratis can be part of within the coming phases of the Hera mission.
Such missions are essential for the area centre to assist put together for the Mars 2117 programme, which entails constructing a human settlement on the Pink Planet, he mentioned.
“The human component is essential to develop and capabilities in science and applied sciences that can allow people to maintain lengthy journeys to Mars and likewise be capable to stay on the floor and fly again,” he mentioned.
That is the second area simulation mission that the UAE has taken half in, after Saleh Al Ameri accomplished an eight-month mission in Russia in 2022.
Up to date: Could 09, 2024, 3:33 PM
