Astronauts and cosmonauts have observed their religions while in space, sometimes publically sometimes privately. This has generated some controversy from atheist groups. Apollo 8 astronaut Frank Borman read from the Book of Genesis on Christmas Eve, 1968 as they orbited the moon. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, a Presbyterian, performed a communion service for himself using a kit provided by his church.

PropertyValue
dbpprop:abstract
  • Astronauts and cosmonauts have observed their religions while in space, sometimes publically sometimes privately. This has generated some controversy from atheist groups. Apollo 8 astronaut Frank Borman read from the Book of Genesis on Christmas Eve, 1968 as they orbited the moon. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, a Presbyterian, performed a communion service for himself using a kit provided by his church. Aldrin had told flight director Chris Kraft of his plans and intended to broadcast the service back to earth but opted not to at the request of Deke Slayton due to the continuing controversy over the Apollo 8 incident. Muslims aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have struggled with fulfilling their religious obligations including kneeling and facing Mecca to pray in microgravity traveling at thousands of miles per hour. The issue first came up when Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud a Saudi Prince flew aboard STS-51-G and again when Anousheh Ansari flew as a tourist to the international space station. In preparation for Malaysia's Sheikh Muszaphar Shuko trip to the ISS in 2007, the National Fatwa Council created "Muslim Obligations in the International Space Station" outlining permissible modifications to rituals such as kneeling when praying (not required in space), facing Mecca when praying (left to the astronaut's best abilities at the start of prayer), and washing (a wet towel will suffice). Most recently, STS-128 astronaut Patrick Forrester brought a fragment of a Missionary Aviation Fellowship aircraft which crashed in Ecuador in 1956. The move was called unconstitutional by the American Atheists group.
dbpprop:reference
rdfs:comment
  • Astronauts and cosmonauts have observed their religions while in space, sometimes publically sometimes privately. This has generated some controversy from atheist groups. Apollo 8 astronaut Frank Borman read from the Book of Genesis on Christmas Eve, 1968 as they orbited the moon. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, a Presbyterian, performed a communion service for himself using a kit provided by his church.
rdfs:label
  • Religion in space
skos:subject
foaf:page