By Staff www.arabianbusiness.com
The Grand Mufti of Dubai has reiterated his fatwa against Muslims applying to travel to Mars after a Dutch firm received 1.259 applications from the Gulf region to be part of a project to set up the first human settlement on the Red Planet by 2023.
In September, a spokesperson for the firm behind project told Arabian Business 1,259 Gulf residents had applied to join the Martian program, with the majority of applications coming from Saudi Arabia.
The Mars One Astronaut Selection Program received more than 202,586 applications from people around the world seeking to be among the first to obtain a one-way ticket to live on the Red Planet.
By 2015, six to ten teams of four individuals will be selected for seven years of full-time training. In 2023, one of these teams will become the first humans ever to land on Mars and live there for the rest of their lives. More info