Malaysia Organizes Two-Day Conference on Islam and Space to Address Issues Surrounding Muslim Astronauts
According to projections, Malaysia plans to send an astronaut into space alongside a Russian cosmonaut in 2007.
The first astronaut from Malaysia is likely to be a Muslim, raising several issues that need to be addressed during their time aboard the spacecraft.
Muslims are required to perform ablution before praying, and water is a scarce resource in space, especially under microgravity conditions where normal bathing is not feasible.
During prayer, practitioners must face the holy city of Mecca, which is also quite challenging in a microgravity environment.
The timing and frequency of daily prayers present another challenge, as an orbiting spacecraft will witness sunrise and sunset more than 12 times a day, unlike the two occurrences on the ground.
Therefore, the Ministry of Science in Malaysia is organizing a specialized conference to discuss these matters.
