[4] He became one of Soyuz TM-6 crew members and spent nine days aboard the Mir space station in 1988 as an Interkosmos research cosmonaut.

[7] He became the first Afghan citizen and the fourth Muslim to visit outer space, after Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, Muhammed Faris, and Musa Manarov.

After completing his education in Habibia High School, he entered the Kabul Polytechnic University in 1976 at the age of 17, and graduated two years later before being drafted into the military in 1978.

[10] Along with Commander Vladimir Lyakhov and Flight Engineer Valery Polyakov, Momand was part of the Soyuz TM-6 three-man crew, which launched at 04:23 GMT 29 August 1988.

[12] During his nine days stay on the Mir space station in 1988, Momand took photographs of his country, participated in astrophysical, medical and biological experiments.

[13] Momand was also recorded reciting the Quran in space at the request of the Afghan Government while his legs were held by another crew member outside of the shot to prevent him from floating away.

[15] As Momand returned to Afghanistan, he was greeted by a large crowd that threw flowers at him, as the Mujahideen fired a barrage of rockets towards the city of Kabul.

The city was the site of 25 separate rocket attacks in a single day, resulting in 35 dead and 165 injured.