Mayasin to go to ISS

[alokmohan]

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AFP) - Russian engineers put the final touches on Sunday to a Soyuz spacecraft in which Malaysia's soon-to-be first astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor will fly to the International Space Station. <br /><br />

 

[qso1]

That should be an interesting mission. What will he (I'm assuming the person is male) be doing on ISS? That is, what will he be studying? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[askold]

I found this interesting citation on Wikipedia:<br /><br /><b>"Since Shukor is a Muslim, and his time in space will coincide with the last part of Ramadan, the Islamic National Fatwa Council drew up the first comprehensive guidebook for Muslims in space.[1][3] The 18-page guidebook is titled "Guidelines for Performing Islamic Rites (Ibadah) at the International Space Station", and details issues such as how to pray in a low-gravity environment, how to locate Mecca from the ISS, how to determine prayer times, and issues surrounding fasting. The orbit of the ISS results in one day/night cycle every 90 minutes,[1][12] so the issues of fasting during Ramadan are also addressed."</b><br /><br />How <i>do</i> you find Mecca from space??

 

[thereiwas]

And the direction to Mecca changes radically during the prayers if ISS is passing near the Middle East.