The body of Afghanistan’s first astronaut, Abdul Ahad Momand, will be flown from Germany to Kabul on Monday, where funeral and burial ceremonies will be held, Afghan authorities said.
The transfer is being coordinated by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s ministries of Foreign Affairs, National Defense, and Transport and Civil Aviation.
Officials said the funeral ceremony will be attended by senior government officials, members of Momand’s family, relatives and members of the public before he is laid to rest in Kabul.
Momand died in Stuttgart, Germany, where he had been living. He was 65.
In 1988, Momand became the first Afghan to travel to space when he flew aboard a Soviet Soyuz mission to the Mir space station, marking a milestone in Afghanistan’s scientific and aviation history.