UAE, US organisations join hands for space ‘Suite Ride’

Mission aims to find answers to a global disaster which a non-profit alliance has anticipated to affect the overall well-being and lifestyle of 853m worldwide, two decades from now

- Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

Two private organisations in the UAE and the US have united to go into the vast outer space in order to help find answers to a global disaster which, a non-profit international alliance, has anticipated to affect the overall well-being and lifestyle of 853 million adults worldwide, two decades from now.

These arethe BurjeelHoldingshealthcare group founded in Abu Dhabi I8 years ago and the Axiom SpaceinHouston, Texasestablishednineyearsback, forstate-of-the-artcommercialspaceinfrastructure development. With an aerospace team of seven people led by American astronaut/biochemistry researcher Peggy Whitson as commander; and part of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4 Mission), the UAE-USA partnership has been labelled as the |4-day “Suite Ride” experiment on diabetes, aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Burjeel Medical City chief medical officer Dr. Mohammad fityan told Gulf Today on Thursday: “Space offersarare environmentto study human physiology in ways not possible on Earth. This includes observing how chronic conditions like diabetes might behave in microgravity (small amount of gravity and so people and objects float), insights that could translate into more precise treatments for patients.”