About 61 candidates have been shortlisted from 4,305 applicants for the second batch of the UAE Astronaut Programme, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) announced on Sunday.    

From these shortlisted candidates, two will be selected to be the UAE’s third and fourth astronauts. They will join the ‘2021 Nasa astronaut candidate class’ and train at the Johnson Space Centre, in preparation for future human space flight missions.

The average age of the 61 candidates is 28. About 33 per cent of them are women. They are currently undergoing a final advanced medical test. On completing this test, selected candidates will face an interview.

The UAE’s first two astronauts — Hazzaa AlMansouri and Sultan AlNeyadi — were handpicked from over 4,000 applicants in 2018.

On September 25, 2019, Hazza AlMansoori became the first Emirati to fly to space, and the first Arab to set foot on the International Space Station.

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