Muslims pray five times a day. Each prayer requires and average of seven minutes to perform, for an approximate total of 35 minutes on the mat.
The International Space Station orbits the Earth about one every 90 minutes. 90/5 = 18. Thus, every 18 minutes, a Muslim astronaut would have to stop doing whatever it is people on the ISS do and do his (or her) seven minutes of obligatory groveling. Not very productive.
Furthermore, Muslims must face Mecca during these prayers. With the station moving at about five miles per second, I suspect that the Muslims supplicant would have to be installed in some sort of whirligig and be spun about like a pinwheel in a cyclone in order to face the proper direction. I'm not sure NASA could spare the payload.
Boru
The International Space Station orbits the Earth about one every 90 minutes. 90/5 = 18. Thus, every 18 minutes, a Muslim astronaut would have to stop doing whatever it is people on the ISS do and do his (or her) seven minutes of obligatory groveling. Not very productive.
Furthermore, Muslims must face Mecca during these prayers. With the station moving at about five miles per second, I suspect that the Muslims supplicant would have to be installed in some sort of whirligig and be spun about like a pinwheel in a cyclone in order to face the proper direction. I'm not sure NASA could spare the payload.
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
