'Armstrong of the Arab World': Syria's first astronaut Mohammad Faris dies in exile

Source: CNN

‘Armstrong of the Arab World’: Syria’s first astronaut Mohammad Faris dies in exile

By Eyad Kourdi, CNN
3 minute read
Published 7:47 PM EDT, Sun April 21, 2024

(CNN) — Mohammad Faris, known as the “Armstrong of the Arab World” and Syria’s only astronaut, died at the age of 72 in exile in the Turkish city of Gaziantep on Friday, from complications of a heart attack he suffered a month ago, according to a close friend who spoke to CNN over the phone.

In 1987, Faris, a pilot in the Syrian Air Force, spent eight days in space with the Soviet Union’s Interkosmos spaceflight program. Faris flew with a Soviet crew to Mir space station becoming the first and only Syrian astronaut and second Arab to make it to space.

Syrians gathered to watch the moment when the former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, father of current President Bashar, spoke with Faris during a phone call broadcast live on state TV, while Faris was in space, and asked him what he could see. Faris responded, “I see my beloved country, I see it wonderful and beautiful as it truly is.” These words, though seemingly innocuous, marked the beginning of his downfall.

In a 2023 documentary aired on news network Al Jazeera, Faris revealed he had chosen not to read a pre-written speech during the live phone call and ad-libbed instead, irking the Syrian dictator who was not used to sharing the limelight with another Syrian.

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/21/middleeast/mohammad-faris-syria-astronaut-obit-intl-latam/index.html