UAE mobile networks change name; here's why

PHOTO

UAE telecom operators Etisalat by e& and du added ‘Back2Earth’ to their mobile phone display names on Wednesday, in anticipation of UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi’s homecoming this weekend.

AlNeyadi, who has been living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for the past six months, is set to return home on Saturday, September 2, along with his Crew-6 colleagues Nasa astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

It is not the first time the two UAE mobile networks changed their display names to celebrate UAE space missions.

Back in late February this year, Etisalat by e& and du added ‘UAE2Space' to their network names to send off AlNeyadi to the ISS for the longest-duration space mission for an Arab astronaut.

In July 2020, the two mobile operators also showed their support for the launch of Hope Probe, the UAE's and Arab world’s first mission to Mars, by changing their network names with the catchphrase ‘UAE2Mars’.

Moreover, in September 2019, ‘1stUAEAstro’ was added to the service provider names in honour of pioneering UAE astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori as the first Emirati who went to space.