First Emirati astronaut 'longed for UAE from space'

The UAE's first man in space has revealed new images of his home country, which he took while on his historic mission last week. Hazza Al Mansouri posted three new pictures on Twitter days after he safely returned to Earth from his eight-day stay on the International Space Station. "Despite being miles away, my heart longed for the warmth of this land," he tweeted, adding the #AbuDhabi hashtag. In one of the images, the length of the UAE's western coastline can be seen along with the mountains of Oman beneath dotted clouds. One of the solar panels that helps power the ISS can also be seen in the picture taken by the Emirati astronaut. He also shared close-up images of Abu Dhabi city and his home town of Liwa. While in space, Maj Al Mansouri posted a number of pictures of Earth to Twitter, including one of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. He returned to Earth on Thursday, after conducting scientific experiments in space and taking part in a series of activities designed to promote science to young people.

First Emirati astronaut 'longed for UAE from space'

Hazza Al Mansouri posts new images of the Emirates taken from the International Space Station