He is not a mere passenger

I was reading the news on TheStar Online today and I cant help but click on the following article.

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Russian envoy confirms that Malaysian is not a ‘mere passenger’

“Russia does not see him as a mere passenger to the International Space Station (ISS). He is a researcher. The experiments he will carry out were discussed between Russia and Malaysia.

“We don’t consider him as a space tourist but a full-fledge cosmonaut,” he said in an interview at the Russian embassy here.

Full article here... http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/10/4/nation/19072942&sec=nation

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Cosmonaut... According to www.dictionary.com

-noun
A Russion or Soviet astronaut

A person trained to travel in a spacecraft. The Russians called their astronauts Cosmonauts.

I wonder why "Malaysian Astronaut" is being called a Cosmonaut? Maybe because he has to go to Russia for training and stuff like that.

So what's with all the commotion that our Astronaut is NOT a real one but just a mere passenger to ISS? I heard many said that too.... Haha...

Then there is this radio ad that is talking about Malaysian Astronauts (Projek Angkasawan Negara). So, are we sending more people to ISS to conduct research and stuff like that? Maybe stay there for months before they get the chance to come back?

I also read an article about how our astronauts pray in space. There is only this problem if they were Muslims. I am not trying to talk bad about other religion, it is just a sharing to all you guys about the article that I read.

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A Muslim Astronaut's Dilemma: How to Face Mecca From Space

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor has a problem. Two problems. The first is that Mecca keeps moving.

Well, not really. It's Shukor who'll be moving. As Malaysia's first astronaut, he's scheduled to lift off October 10 in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for a nine-day visit during the holy month of Ramadan to the International Space Station.

He's a devout Muslim and when he says his daily prayers he wants to face Mecca, specifically the Ka'aba, the holiest place in Islam ("Turn then thy face towards the Sacred Mosque: wherever ye are, turn your faces towards it .... " The Quran, Al-Baqarah, 2:149).

Full article here ... http://www.wired.com/science/space/news/2007/09/mecca_in_orbit

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Well, at least they have a solution for the praying problem...