The UAE is a gift that keeps on giving.

Nevermind (albeit a HUGE deal) the fact that the UAE and its Emirati astronaut, Hazza Al Mansouri, will be the first Arab in space but now the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) has gone above and beyond to cater to his tastebuds too.

With all the pressure that comes with the job, the MBRSC did well to provide local Emirati dishes to reduce Al Mansouri’s homesickness onboard.

For the first time in space history, food (usually in paste form and in tubes) onboard the International Space Station will include traditional Emirati dishes.

The first-ever Emirati dishes onboard the ISS includes saloona, madrooba and balaleet

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The world’s first Emirati astronaut is well equipped for his eight-day mission to the ISS

Hazza Al Mansouri was selected as the prime and first Emirati astronaut by the MBRSC to fo on the ISS by September.

Read more about it here.

‘Meals for astronauts are usually in the form of paste in tubes’

The MBR Space Centre shared images of the Emirati dishes that will accommodate Al Mansouri aboard the ISS, the food (as seen above) can only be directly consumed and not heated.

The canned food is also halal and was prepped ahead of time by specialists.

SO cool!

The menus will have a mix of things, including balaleet, a breakfast option that usually consists of sweetened vermicelli with spices and an egg, saloona, a spicy Emirati stew and madrooba a chicken or cured-fish dish thickened with flour.

How interesting.