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Meet the Egyptian Astronaut Candidate Enrolled in a NASA-Supported Program

May 15, 2016
Photo courtesy of Ahmed Farid

Ahmed Farid is one of three Egyptians enrolled in the NASA-supported project PoSSUM (Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere), which is a research and educational program aimed at studying the earth’s upper atmosphere and its impact on climate change. Being one of 12 candidates selected to become astronaut scientists, Farid tells Egyptian Streets that he hopes to be one of the people who will have the chance to participate in the project’s first atmospheric flight, expected to take place in 2018 with the aim of taking samples from the outermost layers of the earth’s atmosphere. However, Farid said that the flight’s date has yet to be confirmed, as there remains a number of tests to ensure the safety of all those on board. Speaking about the other two Egyptians enrolled in the program, he says he feels privileged to work with them. “I was very surprised and very happy to find two other Egyptians in the same group in PoSSUM. They are awesome people. We felt very honored to be there and I was very happy and proud to have these people around me,” Farid said. Born and bred…


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