00:05İzlediğiniz için teşekkür ederim.
00:06My dream of becoming an astronot
00:08started when I was five or six years old.
00:11In school, our teacher taught us about
00:14the solar system, about space, about
00:18Earth and the Moon. She had us do arts and
00:20crafts, so we created jet packs, we created
00:23astronaut helmets and she told us she would take us on a trip
00:26to the surface of the Moon. She brought in a tent that
00:29looked like a rocket ship. She had us go inside.
00:33She turned off the lights and transformed
00:35our classroom into the surface of the Moon
00:38and had us explore. That day stuck
00:41with me a lot and I really enjoyed
00:44that sense of exploration and I decided
00:48that I wanted to make it real. I wanted to
00:50actually one day make it to the surface of the Moon.
00:53So I held that with me while I was studying
00:56in school. When I was in high school
00:59I decided that I wanted to be a mechanical
01:02engineer because I watched a documentary
01:04about a Soyuz launch and one of the
01:07astronauts on that trip was a mechanical engineer.
01:11So I picked mechanical engineering hoping that
01:15one day I'll be able to make it to space.
01:17and when the announcement for the UAE astronaut program
01:21came through in 2017 I applied.
01:26Unfortunately I wasn't selected to be part of the first batch
01:29but when they announced that there will be a second batch
01:33I decided to take that opportunity again
01:37and alhamdulillah I got selected and became part of the second batch
01:42of the UAE astronauts. I was committed, yes, because I really wanted this.
01:47I worked my whole life to increase the skills I have, refine them
01:53because I wanted to be ready when the opportunity came.
01:58So being an astronaut is difficult and it's easy at the same time.
02:04It depends a lot on the skills you have.
02:08Young boys and girls who want to become astronauts
02:11need to understand that you don't go to space alone.
02:15You go as a crew, you go together.
02:17Humanity as a whole when they explore space
02:20all countries they work together to go to space.
02:23So you need to have really good teamwork skills.
02:27You have to be able to work with other people.
02:29You have to keep an open mindset
02:31because astronauts they need to learn everything.
02:34When you go to space, you are the doctor, you are the reporter,
02:40you are the scientist, you are the plumber, you are the electrician.
02:44You have to do everything when you are up there.
02:47So if you have a clear and open mind that you are willing to learn all the time,
02:52every day you are looking to learn something new,
02:56that mindset will help you a lot when you go to space
02:59or when you apply to be part of the astronaut program.
03:02Because those are the key things that we look for when we are selecting astronauts.
03:06So I trained with NASA class 23.
03:12I am fully ready to take on any space mission that the UAE selects
03:18and views as acceptable for our goals.
03:22Astronauts never stop training.
03:24So even after I completed the initial training,
03:27I am still doing other kinds of training.
03:30So in the UAE we did geology training where we learned about different rocks
03:34because the goal is to one day send humans to the moon again.
03:38I also got a PPL, private pilot license, a couple of weeks ago.
03:43So I am a helicopter pilot now.
03:46And that is also to be ready to hopefully one day make it to land on the moon.
03:51So having that mindset of being ready, never stop training,
03:57that is a great boost for you to be ready whenever you or your country
04:03has an opportunity to send an astronaut to space.
04:07So I am very happy to be here in IAC 2026 in Antalya, Turkey,
04:12because it is a big opportunity for the international community,
04:16for our region and for Turkey as well, to advance even more in space.
04:22The partnerships and the advancements that happen in these types of conferences,
04:27they are not only beneficial to the hosting country,
04:31they are beneficial to every country that attends,
04:33and they are beneficial to the international community.
04:37I am very happy that it is healthy here in Turkey,
04:39because I got the opportunity to see the advancements that have happened here.
04:44And it's a great opportunity for us to build new partnerships
04:48and to deepen the relations between our countries.
