Body of Afghanistan’s First Astronaut to Be Returned to Kabul Tomorrow
The Taliban administration has announced that the body of Abdul Ahad Momand, Afghanistan’s first astronaut, will be transferred to the country for funeral and burial ceremonies. According to a report by the national radio and television, now under Taliban control, the administration’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the body will be moved from Munich, Germany, to Kabul tomorrow (Monday, 6 July).
According to sources, the funeral and burial ceremonies will be held in Kabul on the same day as the transfer. So far, no further details about the exact location of the ceremonies have been shared with the media.
Abdul Ahad Momand passed away two weeks ago at the age of 67 in Stuttgart, Germany. His relatives announced that he died after a prolonged battle with ocular cancer.
Momand traveled to the Mir space station as part of the Soyuz TM-6 mission in 1988, along with several Soviet astronauts, marking his name as the first Afghan astronaut in history. He and his colleagues spent eight days, 20 hours, and 26 minutes in space.
Born in 1958 in Andar district of Ghazni province, Momand had been living in Stuttgart, Germany, since 2003 until his death. Many Afghans regard him as one of the country’s most prominent scientific figures.
