Public nominations, which were open September last year, played a role in the selection process DUBAI: UAE astronaut Sultan Al-Neyadi was appointed Minister of Youth in a cabinet reshuffle announced on Saturday. Posting on X, the UAE’s Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum said Al-Neyadi “has served his country in the military and space sector, as well as served humanity in the scientific field.” He added that public nominations played a role in the selection process and said Al-Neyadi will “continue to perform his scientific and space duties in addition to his new responsibilities.” Al-Neyadi was the first Arab astronaut to spend six months on the International Space Station. He conducted more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations alongside NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission, which lifted off on March 2, 2023, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.