MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: New Straits Times

Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian on Mars? If National Space Agency director-general Prof Datuk Dr Mazlan Othman has her way, we should be sending our first astronaut into space by 2020.

Mazlan, in her first Press conference after a two-year stint at the United Nations Space Science Centre, said the astronaut - possibly on a mission to Mars - could be trained either by Americans or Russians.

"Our astronaut programe will involve several agencies. However, there are no details yet on the scope of research," she said, adding that the programme would be submitted to Cabinet for approval.

She hoped a Malaysian would also be selected to participate in manned missions embarked by other countries to explore Mars.

"This is our hope - that a Malaysian will be able to venture forth and step onto another planet as a representative of humanity," she said after launching the 2002 Space Science Quiz Prime Minister's Trophy at the National Planetarium.

Mazlan is the first director-general of the National Space Agency (NSA) which began operations this month.

Similiar to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) in the United States, the NSA's main aim is to co-ordinate Malaysia's requirements in aerospace and satellite technology. It has also been entrusted with the tasks of identifying necessary infrastructure, formulating a national space policy, and planning space and satellite programmes.

The astronaut programme would fall under the agency's R&D and human resource development.

On the existing Space Science Studies Division under the Science, Technology and Environment Ministry, Mazlan said it would eventually be phased out to be replaced by the NSA.

There's no decision whether the division's staff would be absorbed into the NSA.

Asked about the progress of the country's space science development, Mazlan said among Asean countries, only Thailand and Malaysia have launched their own satellites.

In her speech, Mazlan said the younger generation needed to be equipped with the knowledge and interest in space science as their expertise was needed to develop the field.

She said competitions like the space science quiz would help cultivate awareness and interest among schoolchildren.

The quiz is a joint effort by the Space Science Studies Division, the Education Ministry and Nestle Nespray.

An interactive online contest organised in collaboration with Universiti Tun Abdul Razak will also be held. Primary schoolchildren can log on to www.unitar.edu.my/sainsangkasa2002 from August.