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Crew-6’s Muslim astronaut may try fasting during Ramadan, at least for part of his mission.
Sultan Al-Neyadi said that as a traveler, he was able to maintain a normal diet during the first six months of the excursion. International Space Station It has been flown by United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronauts.The journey could begin as early as Feb. 26, when he and three other astronauts will take SpaceXof falcon 9 crew rocket dragon Spacecraft.
On Jan. 25, Al-Neyadi told reporters that he would likely need to maintain a relatively steady meal schedule during the mission because he would not be able to engage in activities that “could jeopardize the mission or put the crew at risk.” That said, he might try fasting on certain days if his schedule allows: “We’ll see how it goes,” he said during NASA’s live commentary. Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which follows the lunar calendar and changes according to the Gregorian calendar used in most parts of the world. In 2023, Ramadan will last from approximately March 22 to April 23, depending on local observations of the new moon. During that lunar month, most adult Muslims are required to fast from dawn to sunset. Observing Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.
related: SpaceX Crew-6 astronauts prepare for Feb. 26 launch to space station
There are exceptions to the Ramadan fasting rules, one of which Al-Neyadi complies with: All travelers, he said, are exempt from that obligation. “We’re actually allowed to eat enough and prevent escalation of deficiencies in food, nutrition or hydration,” he said. (At the time of publication, the UAE space agency did not respond to Space.com’s inquiry as to whether it was planned for Al-Neyadi. Any special food requests.)
Fasting during space missions has happened before during Ramadan. On the last day of the holy month, June 17, 1985, Prince Sultan bin Salman Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia was first in space space shuttle Mission STS-51G.
Al-Saud’s selection process was complex. At the time, NASA had a shuttle position called a “payload specialist,” which allowed countries or companies to send non-career astronauts to perform limited duties — for example, to oversee experiments or other technologies.
A multinational consortium is carrying out the shuttle mission, launching the satellite Arabsat-1B, and Saudi Arabia was chosen as the representative country for the launch. With limited training time available before launch, the alliance selected Al-Saud based on his more than 1,000 hours of pilot flight time and fluency in English, a requirement for space shuttle operations. arab news (opens in a new tab). Al-Saud was working as an official in the Saudi Ministry of Information when he was selected.
related: SpaceX to send first Saudi woman into space with Ax-2 private mission
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Before dawn on launch day, Al-Saud ate a traditional suhoor pre-sunrise meal.He then prayed on the launch tower before boarding the space shuttle, according to UAE newspapers the whole country (opens in a new tab)quoted from Al-Saud’s autobiography “7 days in space (opens in a new tab)“
After safely entering space with limited free time, Al-Saud began reading the Qur’an and fasting. “Now I was very tired, probably from lack of sleep, weightlessness and fluid loss,” he recalls in the book. He added that an hour before he started his fast, he felt dehydrated. The rest of the crew stayed with him as supporters until he was able to eat.
NASA astronaut John Fabian wished Al-Saud all the best, according to his autobiography, when Saudi Arabia communicated to NASA that the crescent was visible and Ramadan was over. That moment begins the Muslim holiday that breaks the fast: Eid al-Fitr. Al-Saud added that he was “ecstatic” that he could spend Eid al-Fitr in space.
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As for Al-Neyadi, he said being the UAE’s first long-duration astronaut was “a great honor but also a great responsibility.” eight day tour Hazza Ali Almansoori on the International Space Station
Al-Neyadi, 41, recently welcomed his sixth child. Given the Crew-6 moniker, he joked in a Jan. 25 interview with Space.com’s Zoom group that having enough kids to match the number of missions “wasn’t a requirement.
“But,” he added with a laugh, “I’m trying to be a good crew member.”
Elizabeth Howell is “why am i taller (opens in a new tab)? ” (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book on space medicine. Follow her on Twitter @ Howell Space (opens in a new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in a new tab) or Facebook (opens in a new tab).
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