Religion in space
Space travelers have reported profound changes in the way they view their faith related to the overview effect,[1] while some secular groups have criticized the use of government spacecraft for religious activities by astronauts.
[2] On Christmas Eve, 1968 astronauts Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman read from the Book of Genesis as Apollo 8 orbited the Moon.
[3] A lawsuit by American Atheists founder Madalyn Murray O'Hair alleged that the observance amounted to a government endorsement of religion in violation of the First Amendment,[4] but the case was dismissed.
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 Apollo 8's reading.
[6] On the 2009 STS-128 flight to the International Space Station, astronaut Patrick Forrester brought a fragment of a Missionary Aviation Fellowship aircraft which had been used by the Operation Auca martyrs in Ecuador in 1956.
Smith and his family attended a non-denominational Christian church in a community close to their home near Houston's NASA JSC Space Center.
A signed message from Pope Paul VI was included among statements from dozens of other world leaders left on the Moon on a silicon disk during the Apollo 11 mission.
[12] NASA astronaut Michael S. Hopkins took a supply of six consecrated hosts to the International Space Station in September 2013, allowing him to receive the Eucharist weekly during his 24-week mission.
[19] In preparation for Malaysian Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor's 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 (or just Earth)[20] when praying (left to the astronaut's best abilities at the start of prayer), and washing (a wet towel will suffice).
[22] Speaking for the clerical group, Farooq Hamada explained that, "Protecting life against all possible dangers and keeping it safe is an issue agreed upon by all religions and is clearly stipulated in verse 4/29 of the Holy Quran: Do not kill yourselves or one another.
