As he landed on Earth on Monday after a six-month mission on the International Space Station, UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi made another enormous step for the nation's space industry.

Al Neyadi and three other astronauts, including Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, splashed down on Earth at 8:17 AM UAE time off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. The crew was scheduled to fly to NASA's Johnson Space Centre in Houston after reaching land.

“After spending six months aboard the International Space Station, logging nearly 79 million miles during their mission, and completing hundreds of scientific experiments for the benefit of all humanity, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 has returned home to planet Earth,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a media statement.

“This international crew represented three nations, but together they demonstrated humanity’s shared ambition to reach new cosmic shores. The contributions of Crew-6 will help prepare NASA to return to the Moon under Artemis, continue onward to Mars, and improve life here on Earth.”