DUBAI: Emirati astronaut Sultan Al-Neyadi on Tuesday gave a live address from the International Space Station (ISS) to UAE leaders including Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as well as fellow compatriots back on Earth, describing his initial days aboard the space station.

Al-Neyadi, the UAE鈥檚 second man to travel into space after Hazza Al-Mansouri鈥檚 eight-day sojourn on the ISS in 2019, said the newly arrived crew was coping well with microgravity in the space station and their schedules were crowded since they arrived.

鈥淭here are many experiments that the UAE will take part in,鈥� he said.

鈥淲e also have a number of experiments from the UAE, to be conducted by the UAE [which] will hold the UAE fingerprint. We are also subjects in these experiments: astronauts in microgravity.鈥�

The 41-year-old arrived on the ISS last Friday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, whose launch was earlier scuttled after technical issues, and will spend six months there to take part in more than 200 experiments being conducted by Nasa and 19 others involving UAE universities.

His space voyage coincides with Ramadan, when Muslims typically fast from dawn to sunset.

鈥淚鈥檓 in the definition of a traveler, and we can actually break (our) fast. It鈥檚 not compulsory,鈥� Neyadi said during an earlier press conference, explaining how he was exempted.

鈥淎ctually fasting is not compulsory if you鈥檙e feeling not well,鈥� he said.

鈥淪o in that regard, anything that can jeopardize the mission, or maybe put the crew members in a risk, we鈥檙e actually allowed to eat sufficient food.

鈥淚t is yet to be announced or shown, but definitely we have a lot of stuff going on. I want to share some Emirati food on board. I love dates. I鈥檓 going to take dates, and hopefully I鈥檓 going to share this with everybody, especially in Ramadan,鈥� the Emirati astronaut added.