UAE Astronauts are on their way to Baikonur to prepare themselves for isolation

UAE astronauts Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi will fly from Moscow to Baikonur in Kazakhstan on September 10 in preparation for the 15-day isolation phase before the launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on September 25, according to the Mohammad Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC).

The isolation stage is deemed an important factor in the success of space trips and scientific experiments where it aims to maintain the safety of astronauts within a clean environment to avoid any diseases before the launch to the international station. Normally, astronauts are isolated two weeks before the start their mission in Baikonur.

During this period, the Russian Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) is fully responsible for their health, preventing germs from entering their terrestrial and space facilities, as well as carrying out comprehensive sterilization of microbes. The facilities and instruments that astronauts will use are also subject to frequent sterilization, including accommodation, buses and training sites.

Experts at the FMBA regularly take laboratory samples from various facilities and tools to check and prevent germs from moving into the spacecraft, the ISS and cosmic space in general.