Will we see Omani astronauts in International Space Station soon?

Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman plans to send astronauts to space whenever investment opportunities are appropriate, said His Excellency Dr. Ali bin Amer Al Shedhani, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT).

In exclusive interview with Al Shabiba Radio through the “Ma’a Al Shabiba” show, His Excellency Dr. Al Shedhani said that the ambitions of the Sultanate is to send astronauts to visit the International Space Station (ISS), as is the aspiration of all countries of the world, and whenever there is an opportunity to enter such programmes, Oman will be a pioneer in that field.

“The field of space is very broad, which is why it is necessary to focus on only what is important. Therefore, the Ministry wants to focus on a specific area of space by exploring what is useful for our planet. Like analysing data with satellite images, establishing terrestrial space receivers, and establishing space data centres on Earth,” Al Shedhani said.

"After examining the potentials and capabilities of Oman, the decision was to focus on the area of space which economically represents 90 percent of the space market, compared to the other areas which represent only 10 percent,” he added.