This is a list of astronauts of Muslim origin who have traveled to outer space. As of 2024, 18 of them (14 men and 3 women) have been in outer space. Except Muhammed Faris, all of them are alive as of June 2024.
List of Muslim astronauts
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| Country | Name | Mission (launch date) | Insignia | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Saudi Arabia
|
Sultan bin Salman Al Saud[1] | STS-51-G (June 17, 1985) |
 |
First Muslim, first Saudi, first Arab, first member of royalty in space. |
 Syria
|
Muhammed Faris[2] | Mir EP-1 (July 22, 1987) |
 |
First Syrian in space; second Arab in space. |
 Soviet Union (currently  Azerbaijan)
|
Musa Manarov[3] | Mir EO-3 (December 21, 1987) Soyuz TM-11 (December 2, 1990) |
  |
First North Caucasian in space. Total of 541 days in space. |
 Afghanistan
|
Abdul Ahad Momand[2] | Mir EP-3 (August 29, 1988) |
 |
First Afghan and Pashtun in space. |
Soviet Union (currently  Kazakhstan)
|
Toktar Aubakirov[2] | Soyuz TM-13 (October 2, 1991) |
 |
First Kazakh in space. |
 Russia (born in Kazakhstan)[4]
|
Talgat Musabayev[2] | Soyuz TM-19 (November 4, 1994) Soyuz TM-27 (August 25, 1998) Soyuz TM-32 (May 6, 2001) |
   |
Second Kazakh in space. Total of 341 days in space. |
Russia (born in  Kyrgyzstan)
|
Salizhan Sharipov[2] | STS-89 (January 20, 1998) Expedition 10 (October 14, 2004) |
  |
First Tajik-Uzbek in space. Total of 201 days in space. |
 United States (born in  Iran)
|
Anousheh Ansari | Soyuz TMA-9 (September 18, 2006) |
 |
First female space tourist; first Muslim woman in space; first Iranian in space. |
 Malaysia
|
Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor[2] | Soyuz TMA-11 (October 10, 2007) |
 |
First Malaysian Malay in space. |
| Kazakhstan
|
Aidyn Aimbetov[2] | Soyuz TMA-18M (September 2, 2015) | Third Kazakh in space. | |
 United Arab Emirates
|
Hazza Al Mansouri | Soyuz MS-15 (September 25, 2019) | First Emirati in space; third Arab in space. | |
 Egypt
|
Sara Sabry | Blue Origin NS-22 (August 4, 2022) | Suborbital flight. First Egyptian and African in space; first Arab woman in space; second Muslim woman in space. | |
| United Arab Emirates
|
Sultan Al Neyadi | SpaceX Crew-6 (March 2, 2023) |
 |
Second Emirati in space; fifth Arab in space. |
| Saudi Arabia
|
Ali AlQarni | Axiom Mission 2 (May 21, 2023) | First male Saudi to ISS. | |
| Saudi Arabia
|
Rayyanah Barnawi | Axiom Mission 2 (May 21, 2023) | First Saudi woman in space; second Arab woman in space; third Muslim woman in space. | |
 Turkey
|
Alper Gezeravcı | Axiom Mission 3 (18 January, 2024) | First Turk in space and to ISS. | |
| Turkey
|
Tuva Cihangir Atasever | Galactic 07 (07 June, 2024) | Second Turkish-Azeri astronaut | |
| US (born in Iran)
|
Eiman Jahangir | Blue Origin NS-26 (29 August, 2024) |
Praying Towards Mecca in Space
editMalaysia's space agency, Angkasa, convened a conference of 150 Islamic scientists and scholars in 2006 to address the question, among others, of how to pray towards Mecca in space. A document was produced in early 2007 called "A Guideline of Performing Ibadah (worship) at the International Space Station (ISS)" and was approved by Malaysia's National Fatwa Council.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ A prince in space Archived May 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine at Saudi Aramco World, January/February 1986, p20-29
- ^ a b c d e f g El-Maghraby, Tamer (19 March 2007). "Eight Muslims in Space and Counting". IslamOnline.net. Retrieved March 26, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Nine Muslims in space" (PDF). The Brunei Times. July 23, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2011.
- ^ Bukharbayeva, Bagila (20 June 2004). "Kazakhstan Gets a Bigger Say in Space Launch Site". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
- ^ Patrick Di Justo, "A Muslim Astronaut’s Dilemma — How to Face Mecca From Space", Wired, September 26, 2007