Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi stepped out of the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday for the first space walk by an Arab astronaut, a moment touted by the United Arab Emirates as a "milestone.”

Forty one year-old Al Neyadi, dubbed the “Sultan of Space” by his alma mater, became the first Arab astronaut to embark on a six-month space mission when he blasted off for the ISS last month aboard a SpaceX rocket.

Alongside NASA's Stephen Bowen, Al Neyadi will change the Radio Frequency Group unit and prepare the installation of solar panels.

Al Neyadi is the second man from the Gulf state to go to space, after Hazzaa al-Mansoori's eight-day mission in 2019. And he is the first Arab to embark on a long-duration space mission.