How do you pray facing Mecca five times a day when you are circling the Earth 16 times every 24 hours? This is one of the problems facing Malaysian authorities as they prepare to send their first man into space.

There are others: how to hold the prayer position in zero gravity, ensure that only halal freeze-dried food makes it into your space cupboard and perform your ritual ablutions before worship? They have all been answered by a team of Islamic scholars and scientists that has spent more than a year working on guidelines for the astronaut.

He will travel to the International Space Station in October on the invitation of Russia for a Malaysian to join its mission, in exchange for a lucrative arms deal.

The Government hailed the mission as an important milestone but religious scholars questioned how a practising Muslim could accommodate worship with the demands of space travel.

Reconciling a religion founded in the deserts of 7th-century Arabia to 21st-century space travel was never going to be easy. The space station travels around the world at 17,000mph (27,400km/h), making Mecca a target in perpetual motion. With 16 orbits a day and five daily devotion sessions determined by times of sunrise and sunset, devout Muslim astronauts could find themselves chanting their prayers as many as 80 times in 24 hours.

There is also the question of water, a valuable commodity in space, but which Muslims require to wash before each prayer session. Then there is the holy month of Ramadan, which falls during the Russian mission. All Muslims are required to abstain from food during daylight hours — but what is daylight in space?

Only two Muslims have so far gone into space — Prince Sultan bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who travelled on the US shuttle Discovery in 1985, and Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian American space tourist, who went to the space station last year. Both apparently were left to work out their obligations on their own.

Malaysia insists, however, that maintaining Islamic beliefs "is mandatory for Muslims in every situation, time and place". Mustafa Abdul Rahman, the head of its Department of Islamic Development said: "Circumstances on the ISS that are different from circumstance on Earth are not an obstacle for an astronaut to fulfil a Muslim’s obligations."

Two finalists remain from 10,000 applicants: Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor and Faiz Khaleed. The winner will be told that he may choose to fast in space or make up for it when he returns. If an astronaut doubts that the food provided is halal, he "should consume it only to the extent of restraining hunger".

On prayers to Mecca, however, the guidebook sidesteps. These should be performed, it says, "accordingly to the capability of the astronaut".

Kosher

— Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut, carried kosher food and kept the Sabbath on board the ill-fated Columbia shuttle in 2003.

As Malaysia prepares to send its first astronaut to space, the country's space agency planners find themselves facing an unusual problem: when your religious observances are dictated in large part by the sun, how can you keep the faith while orbiting the Earth?

The country has had Islamic scholars working on the problem for a year, and have come up with a set of guidlelines to help their astronaut to meet his religious obligations when he arrives at the International Space Station later this year.

So far, only two muslims have travelled to space: Prince Sultan bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who took a trip on the space shuttle Discovery in 1985, and more recently Anousheh Ansari, who travelled to the space station last year on a Russian space tourist ticket.

It is not known how those trailblazers kept up their practices, but The Times reports that Malaysia is insisting that its astronauts do not use the trifling inconvenience of being aboard the ISS as an excuse to slack off from prayers.

Mustafa Abdul Rahman, the head of its Department of Islamic Development said: "Circumstances on the ISS that are different from circumstance on Earth are not an obstacle for an astronaut to fulfil a Muslim's obligations."

The as-yet-unselected-astronaut, who is scheduled to travel to the ISS in October 2007, will most likely be aboard the space station during the holy month of Ramadan. During this period, Muslims traditionally do not allow food or drink to pass their lips while the sun is up. So Malaysian authorities have tried to work out exactly how their astronaut will know when he can and cannot eat: after all, when orbiting the earth, there are several sunrises and sunsets in each 24 hour day.

Other puzzlers that the scholars have tackled include: how do you make sure your astronauts can get their five daily prayer sessions in when Mecca isn't in the same relative position for more than a spilt second? How do you hold the prayer position when you are floating in free fall? When water is so scarce, how can you make sure you clean yourself properly before each prayer session?

For the record, the guidelines say that fasting can be made up for upon the astronaut's return to Earth, non-Halal food may be consumed only to "restrain hunger", and daily prayers? Well, they can be performed "according to the capability of the astronaut". ®

The government-prepared advice is for a Malaysian joining a Russian scientific mission on the International Space Station in October, Malaysia's National Space Agency chief Mazlan Othman told The Associated Press.

Officials have previously said an Islamic code of conduct in space is necessary because few Muslims have embarked on such expeditions, and there have been no standardized guidelines for them.

Malaysia's two finalists for the voyage, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor and Faiz Khaleed, are now training in Moscow. They were selected from more than 10,000 candidates.

Malaysia held a forum for Islamic scholars in April 2006 to discuss problems Muslim space travelers might face, such as pinpointing the Saudi holy city of Mecca, which Muslims are expected face when they pray five times a day.

The guideline booklet, published this month, says the direction should be determined "according to the capability" of the astronaut.

Those in space during the holy fasting month of Ramadan — when Muslims are required to go without food or water from sunrise to sunset — can choose to fast then or to make up for it when they return, the booklet says.

The first Malaysian astronaut's stint will likely overlap with Ramadan, which starts in mid-September this year.

If Muslim astronauts doubt whether a meal is halal, or prepared according to Islamic rules, they "should consume it only to the extent of restraining hunger," the guidelines say.

The astronaut must be dressed decently whenever in public view, which involves covering at least the portion of the body between the navel and the knees for men. Both of the finalists for Malaysia's first astronaut are males.

Maintaining Islamic beliefs "is mandatory for Muslims in every situation, time and place," Mustafa Abdul Rahman, who heads Malaysia's state-run Department of Islamic Development, said in the guidelines.

"Circumstances on the ISS which are different from circumstances on Earth are not an obstacle for an astronaut to fulfill a Muslim's obligations," he said.

Other Muslims who have gone to space include Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan bin Salman, who went aboard the U.S. shuttle Discovery in 1985, and Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian-American telecommunications entrepreneur who went to the ISS in September 2006.

The History of Muslims in Space

But Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, will not be the first Muslim to cross the 100-km boundary above Earth considered to be the defining line for outer space. In fact, eight Muslims have already undergone that feat.

The first ever Muslim to fly to space was Prince Sultan bin Salman AbdulAziz Al-Saud from Saudi Arabia. In 1985 Al-Saud joined the crew of mission STS-51G on board the American space shuttle Discovery as a payload specialist to deliver the ARABSAT 1-B communication satellite into orbit. With his flight, Al-Saud not only became the first Muslim in space but also the first member of royalty to go there.

In the same year of the completion of his mission, Al-Saud helped in founding the Association of Space Explorers. This is a non-profit professional organization that brings together astronauts and cosmonauts from around the world. He also served on its board of directors for several years.

Next came Syrian Muhammed Faris who, in July 1987, joined the crew of Russian mission Soyuz TM-3. Originally a navigation pilot with a rank of colonel in the Syrian Air Force, Faris flew as research cosmonaut to the Soviet space station Mir.

Five months later, Azerbaijani Musa Manarov flew in December 1987 as part of the Russian Soyuz TM-4 mission to Mir. Originally a colonel in the Soviet Union's Air Force, Manarov joined the mission as flight engineer. Along with his fellow crew members, they became the first ever to spend a whole year in space, returning back to Earth in December 1988. Manarov flew again as flight engineer as part of the Soyuz TM-11 mission in December 1990, this time spending a year and three months in space during which he performed more than 20 hours of spacewalk.

While still in space during his first mission in August 1988, Manarov was joined by another Muslim from Afghanistan aboard space station Mir. A pilot in the Afghan Air Force, Abdul Ahad Mohmand few aboard the Soyuz TM-6 mission as research cosmonaut and spent eight day on Mir conducting experiments along with his crewmates. Mohmand, however, is remembered in history for saving his mission and crew's life in what would have been a space disaster.

Malaysian orthopedic surgeon Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, 34, is training for a planned Oct. 10 launch towards the ISS with veteran NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko to kick off the 16^th expedition to the orbital laboratory.

"It's really important to me to spur interest among all the Malaysian people," Shukor told reporters during a Monday press briefing at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. "But my focus has always been on schoolchildren."

Science Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis said although Dr Muszaphar was now considered the main candidate, this did not mean that he was going to be the one leaving for space on Oct 6. 

Dr Faiz was currently the back-up candidate but both were getting equal training from the Russians at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre. 

"From the reports I have received, the Russians feel that the two of them are equally capable. We will make a final decision as late as possible," he said during the launch of the Angkasawan weblog (blog) here.  

The blog will allow the candidates to share their daily experiences with the rest of the world over the Internet.  

Dr Muszaphar, 34, is a medical doctor attached to the Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Cheras while 26-year-old Dr Faiz is a dental surgeon with the Royal Malaysian Air Force.  

The two said they did not feel that they were in competition against each other. 

"In fact, we inspire each other to do better. Even after classes, we sit down together in our apartment to compare notes to see if we have missed anything," said Dr Faiz. 

Dr Muszaphar said besides studying together, they spent almost each waking hour with each other. 

"Having Faiz here makes going through the classes and tests easier. It would be lonely otherwise. We constantly inspire each other to do better," said the good-looking doctor as Dr Faiz nodded in agreement. 

On the blogs, the two said everyone could write to them via the website http://www.angkasa.gov.my/

Besides reading about the experiences of the two, the public can also give their opinions and comments via the website.

Instead, he will carry out at least 10 laboratory tests for serious research designed by 10 universities, institutes of higher education and government science agencies. 

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis said the experiments were important as "they will have an important impact on our local food and medical industries". 

"All the experiments done in space so far are for the benefit of the countries that sponsored their scientists to fly to space."  

"There have been no scientific studies in space on any Asian interest, in terms of medicine or food technology."  

"The Americans do experiments for their own industries and they do not share their findings. It is the same with the Russians or Japanese; they will not share. This is why it is important for our Angkasawan to carry out these tests," he said. 

Dr Jamaluddin had earlier visited the two Angkasawan candidates, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Sheikh Shukor and Dr Faiz Khaleed, at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre at the Russian Star City about 35km from here. 

The institutes, which drew up the experiments and will supervise the Angkasawan, are Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Universiti Darul Iman, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysian Genome Institute, Aviation Medicine Institute, Sunway University College, Health Ministry and Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute (Mardi). 

The experiments will be in the fields of life sciences, space medicine, physics education and food technology.  

The Angkasawan, who gets to carry 15kg of equipment on board the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, will do tests on the effects of microgravity and space radiation on microbes, cells, food and crystals. (See chart for details.) 

Dr Jamaluddin hoped that the release of the details of these experiments would put paid to earlier reports about the Angkasawan having to make teh tarik or toss roti canai in space. 

"We are not sending up a space tourist. Whoever is chosen will be carrying out ground-breaking experiments with serious implications on our economy." 

"Mardi’s research to be carried out will have serious implications on how we can pack our foodstuff for export in the future. We may be able to get Malaysian foodstuff packed in a manner that it stays fresh for a longer time." 

"These kinds of experiments can only be done quickly in an environment like space," he added. 

The Angkasawan programme is part of Malaysia's purchase of the Sukhoi multi-role fighter aircraft from the Russians in 2000.  

Unlike other countries that have to pay the Russians to send their astronauts to space, the entire programme is borne by the Russians.