Training:
As part of his preparation for future space missions, AlMulla began training with NASA’s 10-member Astronaut Candidate Class of 2021 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA in 2022. The training spans five main categories over two years, including operating and maintaining the International Space Station’s (ISS) complex systems, training for spacewalks, developing complex robotics skills, safely operating a T-38 training jet, and learning Russian language skills.
AlMulla also recently completed a series of training exercises, ranging from survival training at Alabama’s Fort Novosel to mastering the art of suiting up at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.
He also visited the Marshall Space Flight Center, where he met with the Center’s leadership and learned more about its missions, programs, and projects. He also experienced the V20 Thermal Vacuum Chamber, which is currently used to simulate lunar environments and plume surface interaction for lunar landing scenario planning. AlMulla is set to graduate in early 2024 as a flight-eligible astronaut, potentially contributing to research aboard the ISS or undertaking other space missions.