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After a historic six-month mission on the International Space Station, UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi and his crewmates have successfully splashed down on the coast of Florida aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule. 

The mission is considered a feat – it was the UAE’s second human space flight and the Arab world’s first extended mission, as well as the first time an Arab astronaut performed a spacewalk. 

“Welcome home! Crew-6 splashed down safely in the SpaceX Dragon Endeavor in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, at 12:17am ET after 186 days aboard the ISS, completing important research,” NASA posted on X, formerly Twitter. 

Upon splashing down, the Crew6 team was recovered by the SpaceX crew. The capsule was lifted from the water and placed into a recovery vessel while the astronauts were removed from the capsule one by one. 

Crew members will undergo medical tests in Florida before returning home. 

On his last day in space, Al Neyadi bid goodbye to his friends at the ISS. Across the UAE on Friday, electronic billboards showed a countdown to Al Neyadi’s arrival, saying, “Safe Journey, Sultan.”

UAE President H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan congratulated the UAE astronaut on his return. “My son, Sultan Al Neyadi, thank God for your safe return to Earth after the longest Arab mission in space,” he posted on X.

“Together with the national work teams, you made a historic Emirati achievement and contributed to the service of science and humanity. With all of you, our ambitions in the field of space are great and continuous. Science is our weapon, and the effort of our children is our asset. May God grant success.”

Al Neyadi conducted over 200 science experiments assigned by NASA and UAE universities.