Space plan 'not useless', fumes deputy minister
PARLIAMENT The first National Space Programme is not "a waste" as claimed by critics, but is important for further scientific finding, the government has said.
PARLIAMENT The first National Space Programme is not "a waste" as claimed by critics, but is important for further scientific finding, the government has said.
On the defensive, Deputy Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Abu Bakar Mohd Diah said, however, that this fact is lost on those who cannot understand such technical matters.
He was referring to Teo Kok Seong (DAP-Rasah) who said that Malaysia's first astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor's (right) only contribution after he returned from space was to campaign for BN in the last polls.
"It brought a lot of benefit to the country and this is why we are going to send a second mission (to space)," Abu Bakar contended.
The benefits of the first space mission include eight patents, 24 journal articles and human capital development involving 99 Malaysians who contributed to the programme.
He added that experiments conducted while in space included micro-gravity and life support technology and crystallisation of enzymes and proteins.
“The first mission was for eight days, so for the next one we are hoping to extend it to a few months,” he said.
He said that the second space programme will have “better focus and commercial value” and include collaborations with local universities and Japanese, European and Russian space agencies.
However, he said, the total cost cannot be provided as it is still in the planning stages.
The date of the mission is still unknown as Malaysia will need to “wait its turn”, he said.
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