United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, who is currently on a six-month space mission to the International Space Station (ISS) shared a breathtaking night view of the emirate from the space.
The image, which he shared on Twitter shows Dubai’s signature Palm Jumeirah, Jebel Ali and residential areas in Dubai, including the distinctive Jumeirah Village Circle.
“Dubai shines almost as bright as the stars up here,” Sultan Al Neyadi tweeted.
In turn, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, shared the photo on his Twitter account.
“An awe-inspiring photograph of Dubai taken by Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi from the space station paints a picture of the nation’s extraordinary achievements both on Earth and beyond,” Sheikh Hamdan tweeted.
An awe-inspiring photograph of Dubai taken by Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi from the @Space_Station paints a picture of the nation’s extraordinary achievements both on Earth and beyond. pic.twitter.com/sqlC3r7QmN
— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) May 3, 2023
On April 28, Al Neyadi – made history by becoming the first Arab to perform a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk with his American colleague Stephen Bowen.
Al Neyadi trained for over 55 hours at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas in preparation for the spacewalks.
Sultan Al Neyadi made history on March 2 by becoming the first Arab to join a long-term space mission that will last six months as part of SpaceX’s crew.
The mission is a historic landmark for the UAE.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavor, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, carried the Emirati astronaut along with two NASA astronauts, Mission Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren Hoburg, and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
Mumbai: Days before the Karnataka Assembly polls, where the name of Tipu Sultan keeps getting invoked by his right-wing critics, the makers of ‘Tipu’, the film, have announced that their feature will present a “different side” of the king of Mysuru.
Tipu Sultan, till the BJP questioned the narrative, was known as a freedom fighter, an able administrator and the man who introduced India to rocketry. For some years now, the BJP in Karnataka has made a political issue out of Tipu’s record of forced conversions, which is exactly what the film seeks to highlight.
The BJP’s north-east strategist, adviser to the Manipur Chief Minister and well-known author and TV commentator Rajat Sethi has done the research for the film.
The film’s director, Pawan Sharma, said: “What we are taught in school about Tipu Sultan is gross misinformation. I stood absolutely shaken and disillusioned to know his reality as a bigoted king. Through my film I am daring to show a brutal reality that has been manipulated just for us to take him to be a warrior hero.”
He added: “Tipu Sultan’s Islamic fanaticism was much worse than that of his father Hyder Ali Khan’s. He was a Hitler of that era.”
Sethi added: “While history has been unkind to many heroes, it has mischievously ignored the tyranny of many others. Tipu is one such historical figure whose adulation and admiration is overrated, while his cruelties have been neatly concealed in our textbooks.
“Not only history, but popular culture – movies, theatres, etc. – have also systematically ignored a realistic and balanced portrayal of Tipu. This movie is a humble attempt to initiate a course correction on his narrative.”
Producer Sandeep Singh, who has been behind films such as ‘PM Narendra Modi’, ‘Swatantra Veer Savarkar’, ‘Atal’ or ‘Bal Shivaji’, said: “This is the cinema I personally believe in. My films stand for truth… I was brainwashed into believing him to be a braveheart as shown in our history textbooks. But nobody knows his malevolent side. I want to expose his dark side for the future generation.”
Backed by Eros International, Rashmi Sharma Films and Sandeep Singh, ‘Tipu’ will have a multilingual release in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil Telugu and Malayalam.
Abu Dhabi: United Arab Emirates (UAE’s) astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, has once again etched his name into the history books by becoming the first Arab astronaut to walk in space on Friday.
Al Neyadi exited the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday at 5.41 pm UAE time, along with NASA colleague Stephen Bowen, to begin a six-and-a-half-hour maintenance mission.
“Astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi egresses the International Space Station (ISS) starting the first Arab spacewalk in history,” Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre (MBRSC) tweeted.
Al Neyadi and Bowen will perform several missions during their time outside the International Space Station.
These include retrieving and relocating foot restraints that astronauts can use for future spacewalks, preparing a portion of the station for future solar array installation and dismounting and retrieving a piece of communications hardware.
While spacesuits – officially known as Extravehicular Mobility Units – weigh 145 kg, astronauts cannot feel that much weight in space.
EMU spacesuit utilised for spacewalks can have up to 16 layers. Learn more about this suit that will be worn by astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi. The live coverage will begin at 4:30 PM. The mission will start at 5:15 PM (UAE time): https://t.co/tx0n331zSQ pic.twitter.com/fm6Mb2GuGS
Before exiting space, Al Neyadi tweeted, “Counting down the hours until we pass through the ISS airlock into space. Wearing the spacesuit and proudly bearing the UAE flag on my arm, I will soon be undertaking the Arab world’s first spacewalk. Wish us luck!.”
Counting down the hours until we pass through the ISS airlock into space. Wearing the spacesuit and proudly bearing the UAE flag on my arm, I will soon be undertaking the Arab world’s first spacewalk. Wish us luck! 🇦🇪✨ pic.twitter.com/nEkpPGZreK
Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi made history on March 2 by becoming the first Arab to join a long-term space mission that will last six months as part of SpaceX’s crew.
The mission is a historic landmark for the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavor, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, carried the Emirati astronaut along with two NASA astronauts, Mission Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren Hoburg, and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
Abu Dhabi: US space agency NASA has released an animated video that shows how United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi will perform on his first spacewalk on Friday, April 28.
Sultan Al Neyadi, is due to venture outside the International Space Station (ISS) with NASA colleague Stephen Bowen on a six-and-a-half-hour maintenance mission.
On Monday night, NASA released an animated video detailing how the duo will perform the EVA (extravehicular activity).
They will begin their spacewalks around 5:15 pm GST and will be streamed live on NASA’s website, with Bowen referred to as ‘EV-1’ and Al Neyadi as ‘EV-2’.
“We’re super excited about the crew’s spacewalk,” said Dina Contella, Operations Integration Manager, International Space Station Programme.
“Steve Bowen — an extreme veteran. This will be his eighth spacewalk,” she adds.
“And also Sultan Al Neyadi. Excited about his first EVA and also the first for the UAE in general,” she added.
What would a spacewalk involve?
Al Neyadi and Bowen will perform many tasks during their 6.5 hours spacewalks.
Their first major task will be to restore the foot restraints that are scattered over various parts of the station’s exterior.
These restraints will be stored away or placed in other parts of the station so that astronauts can use them on future spacewalks.
They will also complete a series of preparatory tasks for the installation of solar panels, as these panels will be installed during a subsequent mission in June.
Al Neyadi will also retrieve an radio frequency unit that will eventually be sent back to Earth for repair.
UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi aboard the ISS. Photo: Screengrab
Abu Dhabi: The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) on Tuesday announced Sultan Al Neyadi along with his crew was responsible for sending back critical research samples on the Dragon cargo spacecraft before its return from the 27th contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The spacecraft carrying approximately 1950 kg of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo back to Earth, splashed down off the coast of Tampa, Florida in the US on Sunday at 12:58 UAE time.
Al Neyadi, who has been working on scientific experiments on the ISS, completed the stowage of critical research samples along with his Expedition 69 crew members, that include NASA’s Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg and Frank Rubio. Al Neyadi further accessed the Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer (MELFI) on the ISS, that can reach temperatures to a low of -100°C, to preserve some samples before sending them to Earth and was also involved in loading the used station hardware inside the Dragon spacecraft.
Watch the video below
Worked with my fellow crew to send research samples back to Earth onboard SpaceX’s 27th Dragon cargo mission, which I am happy to hear reached Earth safely. Here, you can see me accessing the Minus Eighty-Degree Laboratory Freezer (MELFI), that can reach temperatures as low as… pic.twitter.com/HlqyeKTX6G
Some of the scientific investigations that were returned to Earth include the following:
Space tomato harvest: Studying the growth, nutritional value, and microbial safety of dwarf tomatoes grown in a miniature greenhouse aboard the ISS, which could improve food systems and horticultural therapy on Earth.
Growing higher quality crystals: Testing a crystal growth method for silicon-germanium (SiGe) semiconductors in space, with potential applications in solar cells and electronics.
Analysing aging arteries: Monitoring arterial changes in astronauts to identify cardiovascular risks and provide insight for prevention and treatment of arterial stiffness on Earth.
Fire safety: Investigating burning and flammability in microgravity to enhance fire safety for future space missions, and improve combustion models for terrestrial applications.
Al Neyadi also activated the Dragon spacecraft’s monitoring tools and software and closed the vehicle’s hatch before it undocked from the ISS. After splashing down off the coast of Florida, the Dragon cargo carrying the experiments were transported to NASA’s Space Station Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, allowing researchers to collect data with minimal sample exposure to Earth’s gravity. The completed research and discarded lab gear will now be sent to scientists and engineers around the world for analysis.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
The current era is marked by some great stories, which are brought to us by the means of cinema, TV, or OTT platforms. The over-sensitization of information, especially the one in a historical context, has greatly blurred the lines between fact and fiction. What started to make rounds following the portrayal of minor blends in history to serve a popular narrative has now led to the creation of a fictional character in an untrue story.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been notorious for using the methods of pop culture to colour (or de-colour) the image of several Indian historical figures, has again found itself in an embarrassing situation over the matter of gross historical inaccuracy.
Days after a journal in the United States named the BJP as the most important foreign political party, the Karnataka wing of the party created two fictional characters and gave them the ‘credits’ of killing the former ruler of the erstwhile state of Mysuru Tipu Sultan.
Tipu Sultan has been a conflicted historical figure in the last few years in India. On different occasions, he is made to stand against different historical figures, in an attempt to demean his value in the context of Indian history. Several pieces of misinformation have been used by the party in power To propagate hatred against the ruler. However, it reached its peak when two fictional characters, which were created as recently as 2022, were made to look like those responsible for the death of Tipu.
In an attempt to woo the voters of one of the most important demographics of the state, the Vokkaligas, the BJP introduced Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda. But who are these Gowda brothers?
In 1997, celebrated writer Girish Karnad wrote a play titled ‘Tipu Sultan Kanda Kanasu’ (The Dream of Tipu Sultan). The writer based the play on the Farsi manuscript which was written by Tipu Sultan himself. It documents the dreams of the ruler from 1785 to 1799.
As a ‘response’ to the play written by Karnad, Addanda Cariappa, former actor, singer, a member of the Kendra Sahitya Academy, and the former Director of the cultural institute of Rangayana, wrote another play in 2022 by the name ‘Tippu Nija Kanasugalu’ (The Real Dreams of Tipu). It was this play that introduced the two fictional characters of the Gowda brothers.
The play was promoted in a way to tell people about the ‘true character’ of the former Mysuru king. After staging the play, a book regarding the same matter was also published. It is the book that got the entire controversy started.
After the book got published, a writ petition was filed in a Karnataka court by BS Rafiullah, the former Chairman of the District Wakf Board Committee, seeking a stay on the play and the book. The reason given by Rafiulla for the stay was that it was hurting the Muslim sentiments and “it contains wrong information without any support or justification from history”. The court put a stay order on the book but allowed the play to continue.
BJP and the Fictional story
The controversy regarding these two characters resurfaced ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the poll-bound state of Karnataka. Ahead of his visit, four arches were erected on the route, and one of them was that of these two characters.
The fact that the banner of two imaginary characters was put up is not even the most absurd part of the story. The volunteers used pictures of the Maruthu brothers on the banner. These two brothers were the rulers of the Sivaganga kingdom fought against the British and were publicly hanged to death in 1801.
The attempt to spread extremely wrong and incorrect propaganda by the BJP crosses the line when a minister and a film producer from the state, Muniratna announced that he will be making a film on these two Vokkaliga chieftains. He also claimed that the movie will be scripted by the Higher Education Minister Dr. CN Ashwath Narayan. However, the film was soon halted after the issue came to light. Nirmala Swami Adichunchanagri Mahasamsthana Mutt also called out the false propaganda by the BJP, to increase polarisation before the elections.
As of now, the film stands halted, and the BJP’s attempt to spread disinformation seemingly failed.
Karnataka horticulture minister and producer Munirathna has called off his movie project based on the lives of fictitious characters – Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda.
The decision came after the minister met the Adichunchanagiri seer Nirmalananda Swami.
Ever since the minister announced his decision to make a movie on Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, he has received major backlash from the Vokkalinga community.
BJP’s claims and aftermath
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims that Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda were chieftains who killed Tipu Sultan.
However, the saffron party’s narrative has been dismissed by many historians who said that the 18th-century Mysore ruler was assassinated by the British army. The Vokkaliga community also took offense.
The Karnataka Congress came down heavily on the BJP leaders for “creating new historical characters Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda ” and allegedly propagating that they killed erstwhile Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan.
“This is a distortion of history for elections. This is an insult to the Vokkaliga community,” stated Congress state president D K Shivakumar.
Meeting with Vokkaliga seer
In the face of extreme backlash and accusations that the ruling BJP is trying to ‘distort’ history in order to gain votes in the upcoming Assembly elections, Karnataka horticulture minister and movie producer met the Adichunchanagiri seer Nirmalananda Swami (religious head of the Vokkaliga community) following which he announced the movie is shelved.
Speaking of Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda ever existed, the minister said the topic is disputed.
“There is confusion surrounding Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda. As per the seer’s suggestions, I won’t go ahead with the movie,” he was quoted by The News Minute.
Alt News debunks BJP’s claims
The controversy began during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state this month. Ahead of his visit to Mandya district, a banner flex welcoming him with the fictional characters of Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda was removed following protests from the locals.
The banner shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photo in the middle flanked by Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda illustrations on both sides.
The banner featuring PM Modi and fictional characters of Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda was removed following local protests
Soon after the incident, Munirathna announced he will make a movie based on the lives of Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda.
Alt News editor and fact checker Mohammed Zubair tweeted stating the posters of his film did not feature Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda but Marudhu Pandiyars (Marudhu brothers) named Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu.
Periya Marudhu and Chinna Marudhu were diarchal kings of the Sivagangai district of Tamil Nadu who fought the East India Company in the 18th century. They were finally hanged by the British Army.
Zubair further shared a picture of BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai offering floral tributes to the portraits of the freedom fighters.
BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai offering floral tributes to freedom fighter Marudhu Pandiyars
‘Stop polarizing communities’
Adichunchanagiri seer Nirmalananda Swami called out the saffron party for ‘propaganda’ and trying to ‘polarise’ different communities, all for the sake of votes.
“Whether it is C T Ravi (BJP national general secretary), C N Ashwath Narayan (BJP minister), or Gopalaiah (minister of excise) – whoever has spoken on this subject should keep quiet since we have presented the historical facts before them. We hope they will refrain from commenting on this subject and have understood the seriousness of this situation,” the seer said.
“Anything written with imagination can be termed as fiction. If we narrate what actually occurred in history, that will in fact give strength to the younger generation. Issuing polarising statements will only create confusion or misunderstandings in the minds of the society and influence the community in a wrong way,” the seer concluded.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi on Tuesday shared a photo of his country from the International Space Station (ISS).
On Tuesday, Al Neyadi shared a photo of UAE from ISS on Twitter.
The stunning image, which was taken about 420 kilometers from Earth, shows views of the UAE and neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Taking to Twitter, Sultan Al Neyadi wrote, “No matter where I am in the world, my path always leads me home.”
“And even from space, the [sight] of our beautiful country takes my breath away every time,” he added
على الأرض، أينما ذهبت تقودني خطاي إلى وطني الحبيب.. وفي الفضاء، كيفما نظرت تبقى الإمارات وجهتي ومحطّ أنظاري.. 🇦🇪
No matter where I am in the world, my path always leads me home. And even from Space, the site of our beautiful country takes my breath away every time. 🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/khJ340PcDr
The UAE’s mission is a source of optimism and motivation not only for the country, but for the entire region as it aims to expand the economy and stimulate progress in space exploration.
Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi made history on March 2 by becoming the first Arab to join a long-term space mission that will last six months as part of SpaceX’s crew.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavor, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, carried the Emirati astronaut along with two NASA astronauts, Mission Commander Stephen Bowen, Pilot Warren Hoburg, and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national secretary C T Ravi claimed that the Jama Masjid in Srirangapatnam town of Mandya district, Karnataka is built over an ancient Anjanaya (Hanuman) temple, which was ‘razed down’ by Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan.
Addressing reporters, Ravi, flanked by senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa, demanded an archaeological survey of the mosque in order to prove his point.
“There’s a Kote Anjaneya temple that has been turned into a Masjid. Let the archaeology department survey it. If there is any evidence of a temple then they (Congress) must accept the fact that Tipu was a fanatic, if not, we will tender an apology,” said Ravi.
The 18th-century Mysuru ruler is a constant target of the saffron party.
Last year, state chief minister Basavaraj Bommai had said that the people of the state wouldn’t forgive Congress leaders for displaying a soft corner for terrorists and for talking about Tipu Sultan in order to appease the minority vote bank. He made the remarks while addressing a Jan Sankalp Yatra that was attended by former CM B S Yediyurappa in Pandavapura.
On February 10, Ravi accused the Congress party of doing politics on the policies of Tipu Sultan. “Congress is doing politics on the policies of Tipu Sultan. We are doing politics on the policies of Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar,” he said.
On February 15, Karnataka BJP president Nalin Kateel Kumar, while addressing a public rally, asked them to “kill” all “ardent followers” of Tipu Sultan.
“I ask the people here whether you offer prayers to Lord Hanuman or Tipu. Then will you send those who are ardent followers of Tipu to the forest? Think about it. Do you think Karnataka needs Hanuman devotees or descendants of Tipu? I am issuing a challenge — those who are ardent followers of Tipu should not remain alive on this fertile soil,” Kateel said.
UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and other members of the Crew-6 team during the launch rehearsal on Friday. Photo: MBRSC/Twitter
United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and three crewmates completed a rehearsal of launch day activities at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on February 24.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) posted on Twitter photos of Al Neyadi with astronauts Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg, and Andrei Fedyaev wearing SpaceX spacesuits inside the space capsule.
“Astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and his Crew-6 colleagues completed a full rehearsal for the launch day,” MBRSC tweeted.
SpaceX announced that it has also completed a static test firing of the Falcon 9 rocket as well as dry rehearsals for Crew-6 members is completed.
A static fire test is a vehicle ground test to check the entire preflight test process and detect any potential issues. Having finished rehearsal in their spacesuits in the spacecraft now perpendicular to the rocket, the four-man crew including Al Neyadi looked happy and ready for take off.
Crew-6 will spend six months conducting 250 research experiments, of which Al Neyadi will conduct at least 20 personally, in addition to performing other tasks and maintenance work at the Orbital Science Laboratory.
The lift-off of SpaceX Falcon 9 will take place from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A on February 27 at 10:45 am UAE local time.
