The adventure has only just begun

KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysia’s first angkasawan may have completed his journey to space but for the country’s space programme, it is only the beginning of more exciting things to come.

The successful conclusion of Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor’s journey to space has shown that nothing is impossible if we believe and work for it.

What was a dream is now a reality and a legacy for future generations to build on.

The angkasawan programme began in 2003. Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had expressed the hope that he would one day see a Malaysian in space.

At that time, the notion that a Malaysian would ever reach the depths of space was too incredible to imagine.
But several years later, Dr Muszaphar has done just that.

When it was announced that he would be the first Malaysian to travel to space, an excited Dr Muszaphar had said: “I feel so lucky, I feel as though I’m living the dream of all Malaysians.”

Indeed he was. Malaysians of all ages were glued to their television sets on Oct 10, waiting with bated breath for the Soyuz TMA-10 to lift off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9.22pm.

The nine giant screens showing the live telecast at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre attracted about 1,800 viewers.

Many more offered their prayers for a safe journey for Dr Muszaphar from their living rooms.

Spontaneous cheers rang out and every Malaysian stood a little taller when the screen showed the handsome orthopaedic surgeon in the Soyuz TMA-10.

Despite attempts to discredit Dr Muszaphar as nothing more than a space tourist, he showed that he meant business and was not a mere visitor to the International Space Station.

He conducted research on three experiments under the life sciences category.

The Cells in Space experiment, on the effects of micro-gravity and space radiation on cancer cells, would shed light on cell behaviour and tissue repair.

Another experiment, called Microbes in Space, studied the effects of micro-gravity and space radiation on bacterial growth and drug resistance.

The Protein Crystallisation in Space compared the crystallisation of proteins in space with those crystallised on Earth to develop future industrial applications.

Dr Muszaphar was required to carry out each experiment based on a rigid timetable, which he did. He spent nine days on the ISS and returned to Earth on Oct 21.

After witnessing the launch, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had said the country’s space programme would continue with the help of the Russian Space Agency.

This was echoed by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who announced on Oct 21 that the agency had offered to send another Malaysian to the ISS in 2010 or 2011.

“The next mission will be a step up from the first mission,” Najib had said, hinting at greater things for Major Dr Faiz Khaleed, the primary candidate for the next space flight.

When it was conceptualised, the angkasawan programme was meant to be a starting point to spur interest in science and technology.

The target of the programme are students, whom Abdullah had said would “ultimately realise all the dreams and aspirations we have for our nation".

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Jamaludin Jarjis echoed that in Moscow when he said: “The success of our first space mission will inspire Malaysian youth to learn more about space. It will open their minds and push them beyond limitations.”

It is time for the thousands of Malaysian children who have followed Dr Muszaphar’s progress to dream their own dreams and make them a reality.