Space enthusiasts have been chatting for over a year now about the news of Mars One and how nearly anyone can sign up for a one-way trip to Mars in the near future. It can be a difficult decision for some—a chance to start over, the opportunity to be among the first to populate another planet and to possibly live on forever in Martian history. But many others see it as a dangerous trip, one akin to suicide for those who choose to go. That is why according to NASA, Muslim clerics from the United Arab Emirates have banned practicing Muslims from traveling to Mars.
To be clear, NASA itself has no problem with Muslims being part of the first manned mission to Mars. NASA is not even in charge of Mars One, the group committed to establishing a human presence and settlement on Mars by 2024. It is the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment (GAIAE) who has set down a religious order (or fatwa) which says that Muslims must not sign up for any of the upcoming trips to Mars.
The GAIAE committee believes that the trip to Mars will be so hazardous that anyone signing up to go will essentially be committing suicide, and say that the Holy Quran specifically states that Muslims must not kill themselves or others. It also tells religious Muslims that they must protect their lives against all dangers, and the committee believes that a trip to Mars is not a safe investment in the future health of Muslims.
Mars One begs to differ. Despite NASA breaking the news that says Muslims are banned from the Mars missions, one of the co-founders and CEO of the company, Bas Lansdorp, says that the mission will in fact be the safest they can make it, because they obviously want to succeed in their endeavor. Mars One does acknowledge that the risk of death will be present, but that they plan to curb that likelihood as much as possible, such as by sending cargo missions to Mars before any human missions actually make the trip. Those cargo ships will contain items that will allow Mars’ first human inhabitants to live freely on the surface of Mars by setting up a safe living environment as well as an atmosphere humans can breathe.
Lansdorp requested that the GAIAE cancel the fatwa and allow the Mars journey to be open to Muslims as well, saying that those who go can be the first to witness any signs of God’s creation in heaven. However, any Muslims who do apply would need to make the cut for trials. Over 200,000 people have already applied to be part of the Mars missions, a number which Lansdorp said the company had whittled down to just over a thousand in December.
However, some scientists say that the Mars One mission, while it has great ideals, is more of a fairy tale than an actual possibility. One engineer mentioned that all Mars One had were pictures and words, and he needed a bit more details before he could start taking them seriously.
Mars One hopes that in the future with further information, the GAIAE will release the fatwa and not ban Muslims from Mars as per NASA’s current report.
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