Space adventure a big blast SAGER AHMAD Swing around the Solar System, launch a rocket to the Moon and hold a meteorite in your hands... SAGER AHMAD experienced these and other thrills at the Malaysian International Space Adventure

Mock-up of the Discovery shuttle

A replica of the Lunar Rover

The Eagle landing on the Moon

Now you can — at the Malaysian International Space Adventure (Misa) in Putrajaya. Simply pay for an entrance ticket and you’ll not only be able to play “angkasawan” but you will also get a simulated experience of what astronauts go through in space.

The Misa show, which began last December, will be on till mid-March and the organiser, Ad Suria Sdn Bhd, has applied for an extension period from the Government.

Do Your Homework

Misa is located in several large white tents near the lake. Buy a ticket and step into the cold, dark world inside the tents. What a welcome change from the searing hot sun outside!

To get the most from the outing, it helps if you do a little homework first so that you can fully understand the exhibits. Otherwise, like the Malay proverb “macam tikus tengok besi” (like a rat staring at iron), you may not fully understand the story of man’s space quest by just looking at the displays.

You’ll see the bare-bone history of the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo programmes and all the way to the Shuttle missions including Skylab and the International Space Station (ISS).

There are video wall panels and large models of the nine planets — Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

You’ll see Hubble Rescue, Life in a Vacuum, Lunar Rover, Remote Mars Rover, Orrery, Virtual Biosphere, Space Probe and a life-sized mock-up of the nose section of the Discovery shuttle, a smaller shuttle as well as the Blast Zone.

The exhibition uses mainly materials from the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) and the German Space Museum.

Find out for yourself the answers to questions on gravity, atmosphere, meteorite, orbit, re-entry, heat-shield and food packed in tubes for astronauts. There’s plenty of space jargon to digest, too.

At the end of the tour, you’ll realise that astronauts are brave people as during space missions, they are exposed to risks they have little control over. And space travel has resulted in new innovations and technologies that benefit mankind.

Blasting To The Moon

Being “on board” the historic Apollo 11 mission will literally blow you off your seats. The 60-seat 4-D theatre (goggles are provided at the entrance) offers realistic 3-D computer animation in full colour while the fourth “D” comes in the form of your seat which bumps to simulate the effect of objects flying in zero gravity. There are cold sprays from a aerosol can aimed at your head as well as real but mild electric shock at your feet.

The blast to outer space, landing on the Moon and walking on the rugged lunar surface are experiences to cherish though they are only a simulation.

The real Apollo 11 first landed on the Moon with two men, Neil Alden Armstrong and Edwin Eugene ‘Buzz’ Aldrin Jr. Their buddy, Michael Collins, orbited around the Moon in the mothership Columbia.

Your own experience includes the deafening roar of the mighty Saturn V booster rocket shaking the room and the chairs that vibrate in co-ordination with the 3-D image on screen. Then the Apollo 11 rocket lifts off with trailing flames, smoke and vapour (from the fuel tanks carrying liquid oxygen and hydrogen which burns to produce energy and water), while the dull red crane holding the rocket swings past you, barely missing you by a hair. The rocket has to be powerful enough to “throw” itself out at over 11km per second to escape the Earth’s gravity.

You can almost feel the zero gravity in the space craft when debris and large particles start flying and floating about in slow motion all around you. Extending your palm, you will feel as if you can actually touch the pieces.

At the next instant is an image of the rocket (3-D always) with its sharp point coming straight at you and again, missing you by a whisker.

Moon Landing

The Moon is the closest celestial body to Earth. From early times, it has influenced man and continues to play a big role in our daily lives. The Chinese and Muslim lunar calendar is based on the Moon which affects tidal movements. In folklore a full moon is said to have the power to turn some people lunatic (crazy) or into werewolves.

Man too had long dreamed of going to the Moon. There is a Malay proverb, “bagai pungguk rindukan bulan” (like the owl longing for the moon). The “longing” became a reality when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, a century after science fiction writer H.G. Wells published his novel, First Man On The Moon.

Now you can take part in the Apollo landing. As Lunar Module pilot, “Aldrin” announces to mission control: “The Eagle has landed”.

Then “Armstrong” comes down the ladder and leaves his shoeprint on the soft surface with words that will live forever: “That’s a small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”

You’ll follow them as they walk about on the barren lunar surface, bouncing about because, on the Moon, your bodyweight is only one sixth of your actual weight on Earth. So if you weigh 60kg on Earth, you’ll only be 10kg on the Moon!

To appreciate your Moon Mission at Misa better, it is recommended that you do some homework. At least read about the Apollo 11 mission at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11

Interactive Astronaut

You can play interactive games and read educational material at 15 stand-alone exhibits, including how and what it takes to launch and land a space shuttle and how to hold a meteorite.

Hubble Rescue shows the principles behind the “how”, including how astronauts move differently in space and on Earth. Launched in 1990, the Hubble Telescope satellite now sends high resolution pictures back to Earth.

Manned by American and Russian astronauts, the ISS, assembled in 1998, started operations in 2000. It orbits between 300 and 400km above Earth 15 times a day and is visible to the naked eye.

Malaysian angkasawan Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Sheikh Shukor and two other astronauts blasted into space in a Russian Soyuz 11 rocket from Baikonour, Kazhazstan on Oct 10 last year. They spent 10 days at ISS before returning to Earth. At Misa, you’ll get to understand what Dr Sheikh went through.

Understanding The Earth

By using Orrery, you’ll be able to track the movements of planets and understand how the different seasons on Earth are caused by the revolving movement on its axis, tilted at 23.5 degrees.

We often take for granted things like gravity, atmosphere and the Earth revolution (on its axis) and orbit around the sun. The Earth takes 24 hours for each revolution and 365 days and six hours to orbit around the sun. Every four years, the six hours are combined to make an extra day, Feb 29, creating a leap year.

On a more serious note, the Earth and everything will burn up and all life will come to an end if our planet stops moving.

The Earth’s gravity keeps us on the ground. Two thirds of its surface is covered by water. Without gravity, water would not stay on the earth. As for atmosphere, the air is thickest closest to the Earth’s surface. These serve as a natural shield that protects the earth. We are constantly hit by meteorites but almost all burn up when they come in contact with the atmosphere. The few that do reach Earth almost always fall into the sea. Only a small fraction actually hits the ground.

The effect of a large meteorite hitting the ground would be several thousands times the effect of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945.

Getting There

To embark on the space adventure, head for Precinct 5 in Putrajaya. This is, in itself, an adventure. The “marker” will be a strange round building with a layered roof, sitting on a low hill. This is PICC or Putrajaya International Convention Centre.

Unfortunately, there are few signages leading to the venue except when you’re already in the vicinity.

Tickets and Tours

Misa is open between 10am and 10pm (last entry is at 9pm). But do allow yourself at least two hours to see everything.

Tickets are priced at RM38 for adult and RM23 for child aged three to 12. There is a 25 per cent discount for MyKad holders.

For details, contact               03-8890 1673        or               03-2166 1106        or email: MISA@adsuria.com

For organised tours to Misa and Putrajaya, including the Putrajaya Lake, contact Tour D’Precints Sdn Bhd. Call Fadilah at               03-8881 1596       , email: tdsb@tourputrajaya.com.my or visit www.tourputrajaya.com or Ash-Har Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd (Zarina Abdullah) at               03-9200 7050        or email: ashhartravel@gmail.com.

For more details on MISA, contact Sam Gibbs, MD of Aerospace Education Services Sdn Bhd, at               03-7845 0842        or email him at sam@aerospacedu.com