Emirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri lands safely on Earth

Ground based support teams are in communication with the crew.

The Soyuz space ship carrying UAE's first astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori has undocked from the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft land on ground at Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan at 2.59pm.

One of the remarkable things about the trip back to Earth was the precise timings.

It all went to plan - almost to the second - showing the incredible levels of detailed planning and skilled execution that go into these missions.

Touchdown came at 2:59pm, exactly as had been predicted.

We now look forward to seeing the first images of Hazza, as well as Alexey Ovchinin and Nick Hague, back on dry land.

He has been extracted from the Soyuz and seems fine. He will receive routine medical checks, but gave a thumbs up to cameras.
The crew will now also be allowed to change out of their cumbersome suits.

Hazza, a father of four, has clearly missed his family - but they will be reunited soon.

It may be a while until he is home in the UAE, he will at least soon be back on his home planet. The craft is set to reenter the Earth's atmosphere within minutes.

And they're back. Missions like this always carry an element of danger, but this one went off without a hitch.

Well done to Alexey Ovchinin, for leading the successful re-entry, and of course Hazza Al Mansouri, the UAE's first man in space!

Early speaking on his Instagram video, Hazza thanked his family for their support and understanding.

"Allow me to make a personal thank you to my family, my mother and father and to tell them God bless you and I hope you will be proud of me today," he said

"I thank my dear wife and my children who were patient in my time away from them."

He also expressed gratitude for the many messages of support he had received.

"And I say to everyone in the UAE and in the Arab world, old and young, thank you so much, thank you for messages, support and well-wishes that were precious to me. Finally, I would like to say that though I am far from you know, you are very close to my heart. God protect you."

The National