Chance to experience 'space adventure'

PUTRAJAYA, SUN:

Malaysia is out to woo more visitors to the country by taking them to where no layman has gone before - space. The latest tourism offering is the Malaysia International Space Adventure (MISA) which will be held till March 16.

Held in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year, it is the first-ever aerospace exhibition in Malaysia with real National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) exhibits shipped in for display.

MISA is located in Precinct 5, Putrajaya, near the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.

Opening hours from Monday to Thursday are from 10am until the last entry at 9pm, and on Friday and Saturday from 10am to the last entry at 10pm.

Admission is RM38 for adult and RM23 child.
The exhibition's theme is "Experience Space on Earth" and showcases, among others, a replica of the 'Discovery' space shuttle flight deck, lunar rover robots and an interactive experience inside a replica of the International Space Station.

It also provides a blast zone where visitors experience the final moments before a spacecraft launch and a four- dimensional (4-D) theatre showing a movie of the first space travel to the moon on board the Apollo 11.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor launched the exhibition here last night.

"The exhibition is the perfect education field trip for schools. I hope it will spark the inspiration and motivation for Malaysia's next generation of astronauts, aeronautical engineers and scientists, in line with the country's goal of becoming a developed nation with a strong base of knowledge workers," he said.

By : Deborah Loh