Yesterday, he also demonstrated the effects of microgravity in space by spinning a top as part of an educational programme. 

In carrying out his experiments, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar is being aided by Malaysian scientists, headed by Prof Dr A. Rahman A. Jamal, who are in contact with him twice a day from the Mission Control Centre Moscow (MCCM). 

Prof A. Rahman said Dr Sheikh Muszaphar had gone through the most challenging part of the experiments which involved a large number of 36 fluid processing apparatus (FPA) using a plastic glove box as part of safety requirements on the ISS.  

"Now things will be more smooth sailing for him," said Prof A. Rahman. 

Principal investigator of the protein experiments Prof Dr Raja Noor Zaliha Raja Abd Rahman said these experiments would stop on Dr Sheikh Muszaphar’s last day aboard the ISS. 

On the second day on the ISS (or Flight Day Four), the 36 FPAs for the four cells - cancer, luekaemia, huvec (human umbilical vein endothelial cell) and oestoblast (human bone cell) - experiments were activated. 

The experiments are aimed at studying the effects of space conditions on the acceleration of cell and microbe growth to enable scientists to study their nature and come out with, among others, medical cures.  

During the experiments, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar is also tasked with taking photographs aided by Russian ISS commander Fyodor Yuchikhin.

Indeed the most important aim of the mission is to make discoveries of these experiments that will have a major impact on medicine, treatment technology as well as develop new industries. 

Three life sciences experiments have been short-listed from 40 experiments submitted by the nation’s universities.  

They are the cells, microbes and protein crystallisation experiments in space.  

Heading the cells experiments is Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Medical Molecular biology Institute (Umbi) director Prof Dr A. Rahman A. Jamal, while the institute’s principal fellow/ senior consultant microbiologist Prof Dr Ramelah Mohamed is in charge of the experiments on microbes.  

The protein crystallisation in space project is headed by Universiti Putra Malaysia deputy dean (research & graduate studies) Prof Dr Raja Noor Zaliha Raja Abd Rahman.  

Prof A. Rahman said that besides having to address the rationale of sending an experiment to space, other challenges they had to face included limitations in the International Space Station (ISS) due to limitation of space, routine lab equipment, crew time and ideal experimental conditions. 

There are also the issue of specialised hardware, safety issues, documentation, engineering as well as logistics. 

There's not only the limited load the astronaut can take along to the ISS (15kg) and bring back (5kg) but there is also the nightmare of strict Russian customs clearance on the flight hardware. Nevertheless, it is an exciting time for the local scientists. 

On the impact and spin-off from the experiments, Prof A. Rahman said it would be a first for Malaysian scientists, who will get the rare opportunity to learn, design and carry out experiments in space. 

They will also be able to conduct research collaboration and interaction with top US and Russian scientists besides administrative collaboration with Nasa, European Space Agency and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa). 

"Although we might not be able to afford to send an astronaut to space again, this programme will establish local expertise and capacity building in gravitational biology and space research," he said. 

On why space experiments were needed, Prof A Rahman explained that space provided the unique condition of microgravity and space radiation. 

Microgravity affects various organisms and biological systems. For one thing, cells become spherical in space and this affects various physiological processes. 

He said bacteria also grows faster and may become more virulent while protein crystals become more pure because of the lack of gravity. 

The experiments may sound complicated but the astronaut’s tasks have been simplified, with the limited time he would have for the experiments. 

Prof A Rahman said the tool for his experiment involved simple special test tubes called the fluid processing apparatus (FPA). 

The apparatus has three levels of containment (to meet safety requirements), including three chambers to be filled with the cells/bacteria, medium as nutrient for the cell and fixatives, respectively.  

The experiments will be loaded into the flight hardware two days before take off and examined for leakages before being packed into a special bag. 

The mission for the Angkasawan involves unloading the FPAs into the incubator for incubation at 37°C for optimal growth of cells.  

On the third flight day, the astronaut will activate the experiment by pushing the plunger to add the medium into the cell/ bacteria while on the sixth day, he will terminate the experiment by adding the fixative to the cell/bacteria suspension. 

The astronaut will activate the crystal growth experiments by rotating the protein chamber and conduct daily status checks. At the end he will deactivate the experiment by rotating the chamber to reseal the samples.  

"It is a simple job but because of micro-gravity, a 30 second job will take four times longer. We will be in constant contact with the astronaut in case anything goes wrong," said Prof A Rahman, adding that the experiments would be packed into the special bag and secured onto the returning vehicle. 

"The experiments, together with the astronauts, will return to Kazakhstan as urgent cargo. Speed is important because of the need to control temperature, and the load has to be handled with care. The experiments will be transported to Malaysia for analysis," he said. 

Prof A. Rahman said analysis of the experiments would take between three months to a year and the results would be published and shared in seminars. 

But even before the Angkasawan has gone to space, the Malaysian scientists have already gained international recognition.  

Japan, which plans to launch its Japan Experiment Module in the ISS, has invited Prof A. Rahman and the other scientists to participate in future experiments because of the experience they have gained in the last two years.  

Under the Mars exploration programme, Russia has asked the Malaysians to propose experiments on its volunteers for its simulation exercise.  

"The trip to Mars is expected to take 500 days and the simulation will involve volunteers confined in a building for a long period. The experiment will be on how they will be affected in terms of psychology, physiology and behaviour," he said. 

The astronaut too will be participating in the European Space Agency study on astronauts. For the Angkasawan effort, the agency has gotten an extra 2 kg of load for the programme to be taken on board.

"Performing these experiments in space is a great opportunity to extend our horizons in medical science because space has conditions that earth doesn't have," said Space Medicine Programme Coordinator Datuk Professor Dr Khalid Yusoff during a press conference at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) yesterday. 

The experiments are under the auspices of the Space Medicine Programme, and will also include observation of the astronaut's mental status. 

"It would take us more than 50 years to observe bone loss in humans but a 10-day trip to space would enable us to get a lot more information because humans experience 10 times more bone loss in space than on earth," Khalid said. 

He said the experiments have been endorsed by Russia, the United States and various European countries. 

"The proposal, hypothesis and methodology for these projects were started last year and have all have been finalised now," he said. 

Present at the press conference were the two Malaysian astronaut candidates, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor and Capt Dr Faiz Khaleed. 

The Space Medicine Programme is led by UiTM. The consortium of Malaysian universities and research centres collaboratively undertaking this programme includes the Institute of Aviation Medicine of the Defence Ministry, Universiti Darul Iman, Universiti Sains Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.

"Worse, many are still under the assumption that we are going to spin gasing or make teh tarik in space."  

"Nothing could be further from the truth," he told a press conference here yesterday. 

"Our objective is to uncover monumental findings in the field of science and many countries, including the United States and Russia, are eager to see the results of our experiments," he added. 

Present at the press conference were space trainees Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Sheikh Shukor and Dr Faiz Khaleed. 

One of them will be the first Malaysian astronaut and will go into space on an international mission, starting on Oct 10. 

Lamenting that most Malaysians do not take the programme seriously, Dr Zulkeffeli said:  

"A recent survey revealed that they still think it’s a waste of time and money, and that we’re just going to undertake a 'little' science project when our angkasawan is sent into space."  

He said our angkasawan would face a very regimented schedule in carrying out four major experiments. 

These include studying liver cancer and leukaemia cells, bacteria and protein crystallisation and the physics of objects in space. 

"Every single move and action of the angkasawan must be planned to the minute, as only 108 minutes per day can be allocated for carrying out the experiments." 

"Our angkasawan will conduct these projects on the third day in space, due to logistics constraints." 

"Clearly, we do not want to waste any time, as our findings could significantly change and contribute to the field of modern medicine, science and industry," said Dr Zulkeffeli. 

Among the institutes that drew up the experiments and will supervise the programme are Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Universiti Darul Iman and Universiti Putra Malaysia. 

The others are the Malaysian Genome Institute, Aviation Medicine Institute, Sunway University College, Health Ministry and Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute (Mardi). 

The idea is to carry out the studies in a microgravity and space radiation condition, as both aspects have a significant impact on various organisms and biological systems. 

Dr Zulkeffeli said the study of an object's physics in space, such as spinning a top (the source of the public's mockery on the experiment) is not to be misunderstood.  

He said such experiments would help significantly in attracting the young to take notice of the world of science.