The first Emirati astronaut to go into space won't be missing popular UAE dishes during his upcoming mission. Hazza Al Mansouri is currently getting ready for his mission to the International Space Station (ISS) - set to launch on September 25. 

As he prepares himself for the journey, a company specialized in the production of astronaut food is planning out a special menu for his eight days in space. The Space Food Laboratory company is working on cooking batches of canned halal food for Al Mansouri to have while he's far from Earth. 

Dishes include local delicacies like balaleet (sweetened vermicelli and eggs), saloona (Emirati lamb stew), and mathrooba (salt-cured fish stew).  According to Gulf News, they will be ready for take off by mid-August. 

Al Mansouri, along with Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka and American astronaut Jessica Meir, will be launched to space aboard a Soyuz MS 15 spacecraft and will complete an eight-day stay on the ISS. 

The Emirati astronaut will carry out a number of scientific experiments before returning to Earth on October 3. Once he completes his mission, Al Mansouri will make history as the first-ever Emirati and Arab to fly to the ISS. 

In 2018, Al Mansouri and Sultan al Neyadi were revealed as the first Emiratis to be selected to fly to the ISS. 

At the time, Dubai's Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the two will become the country's first-ever nationals to go to space as part of the UAE Astronaut Program. 

The duo was chosen from a pool of 4,022 contenders who applied for Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center's UAE Astronaut Program, which aimed to find the nation's first astronauts. 

The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2019 has been a real rollercoaster for Egypt. It started when one member of their national team was accused of sexual harassment, and climaxed after its most famous player defended his teammate — despite the allegations. 

But, those two events were followed by a spiraling down phenomenon after Egypt lost 1-0 against South Africa in a match that took place on Saturday. Within hours, the president of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), Hany Abu Rida, resigned after the elimination of the Pharaohs from the football tournament. Abu Rida also fired his technical team after the shock exit and Mexican coach Javier Aguirre - who's been training the team for less than a year - just hours after their defeat.

"This decision comes as a moral responsibility although the Football Association did not neglect its duties towards the national squad and offered complete financial and moral support to it," Abu Rida said. 

Several members of the EFA have resigned in response to Abu Rida's request, several media outlets reported. Rida, however, will continue to be part of the AFCON's organizing committee till the end of the tournament.  

On Saturday, Egypt was knocked out of the tournament after being defeated by South Africa. The North African nation was the AFCON's host this year, so it was expected to see famed footballer Mohamed Salah depart the Cairo International Stadium in tears.

Now, as for Abu Rida, he has led the EFA since 2016. In response to the sexual harassment allegations against one team player, Abu Rida decided to "dismiss Amr Warda from the team's camp after consulting with the team's technical and administrative staff to preserve the national team's state of discipline, focus and commitment." 

After Warda released an apology video - that many deemed unconvincing - the association announced the player would be allowed to rejoin the squad. So, maybe their loss was karma playing its part in serving justice? 

Whatever happened on the field was transmitted into a conversation on Twitter. Some were upset over Egypt's shock exit, others were quite ecstatic that South Africa won the match. 

There was heavy criticism targeting many Egyptian footballers, including 26-year-old Mohamed Elneny. One man thought Egypt should strip Elneny of his citizenship for his performance. Talk about drama, right?