Abu Dhabi , United Arab Emirates ( CNN ) -- The Oscar-nominated film `` Gravity '' traces the harrowing tale of astronaut Ryan Stone after a mission goes horribly wrong . She 's lost in space and struggles to try to make her way back to Earth . `` Gravity '' is just a film . Imagine a similar real-life scenario : Would there be any chance of survival ? That 's a concern for the General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments , or GAIAE , the United Arab Emirates ' religious watchdog , for anyone who wishes to travel to Mars . The GAIAE has issued a fatwa , or an official Islamic ruling , to warn Muslims against a Mars mission . So far , the UAE has supported space travel . Abu Dhabi 's Aabar Investments teamed up with Richard Branson 's Virgin group to create Virgin Galactic to provide spaceflights for tourists , starting this year . But a mission to Mars , it seems , is one step too far . Tourist trips to the Moon by 2043 ? The mission is being planned by the Dutch nonprofit foundation Mars One . In April 2013 , it announced its ambitions to establish a human settlement on the Red Planet by 2025 . But the GAIAE likens the journey to a suicide mission . On the authority 's free 24-hour hotline , the issue was deliberated by the center 's specialized muftis , or scholars , who released the following statement : `` It is not permissible to travel to Mars and never to return if there is no life on Mars . The chances of dying are higher than living . '' Taking one 's life willingly is against Islamic principles . In response , Mars One issued a statement asking the UAE 's Islamic authorities to cancel the fatwa , saying every precaution would be taken to reduce the risk to life . `` If we may be so bold : the GAIAE should not analyze the risk as they perceive it today , '' the statement says . `` The GAIAE should assess the potential risk for humans as if an unmanned habitable outpost is ready and waiting on Mars . Only when that outpost is established will human lives be risked in Mars One 's plan . '' The statement includes a verse from the Quran that `` encourages Muslims to go out and see the signs of God 's creation in the 'heavens and the earth . ' `` It goes on to say the first Martian settlers would walk in the footsteps of great Muslim explorers like Ibn Battuta , the 14th century Moroccan journeyman whose travels took him across North Africa , the Middle East and Asia . Indeed , space travel is n't alien to Muslim culture . There have been Muslim space explorers in the past . 200,000 people apply to live on Mars . The first ever Muslim space tourist was Saudi Arabia 's Prince Sultan bin Salman Al-Saud , when he joined the crew of American space shuttle Discovery in 1985 . In 2006 , Anousheh Ansari became the first Iranian-born woman in space . And to help Muslims observe religious obligations in space , the Malaysian government has been instrumental in setting up guidelines . In 2006 , Malaysia 's national space agency Angkasa convened a conference of Islamic scientists and scholars to address the religious obligations of Muslim astronauts . The result was a detailed set of rules called `` A Guideline of Performing Ibadah ( worship ) at the International Space Station ( ISS ) . '' It tackles a number of issues , like the number of times a Muslim should observe daily prayers , when a day lasts just 90 minutes in orbit . Mars One says 1,058 candidates have been shortlisted for the mission , from pool of more than 200,000 applicants around the world . It 's not clear how many Muslims are among the candidates , but Mars One says applications came from 107 countries . Since its inception in 2008 , the GAIAE has released nearly 2 million fatwas . The fatwa on the Mars mission is now among them . Opinion : Why I signed up for a one-way trip to Mars .
The United Arab Emirates ' religious watchdog warns Muslims against a Mars mission . It says the journey , which is n't scheduled to return , is like a suicide mission . Score: 7 Mission organizers issue a statement asking the Islamic authorities to cancel the fatwa .