Life Sciences programme co-ordinator Prof Dr A. Rahman A. Jamal said this was because the specimens of the experiments conducted at the International Space Station (ISS), particularly on protein crystallisation, cannot withstand strong vibration as the crystals can crack and break.

"We must ensure that the specimens from the bone cells are maintained at 30^oC as they are live cells, and the cancer cells and bacteria at 4oC to ensure that the gene components in the cells remain stable.

"The protein crystals must be maintained at between 4^oC and 10^oC, lest they freeze in extreme cold. To overcome this, the specimens have been placed in temperature-controlled containers."

Rahman said that to protect the specimens from strong vibration, the containers come with padding to absorb the vibration from the impact of the landing.

"According to the astronauts, the least impact we can expect is like that of a car crash and we pray that it will not have any effect on the specimens."

Rahman is confident that the specimens would be safe as the containers bearing them would be placed under or behind the astronauts' seat, as advised by the Russian authorities.

He praised Dr Sheikh Muszaphar for successfully conducting the experiments with ease although they were complicated. This had impressed the Russians.

"The experiments on cancer cells, bone cells, bacteria and protein crystallisation will end at 4am tomorrow. The results of the experiments are much-awaited by the scientist community as conducting research in space is not easy," said Prof Rahman.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar and Russian cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov are expected to land at 2.37pm (6.37pm Malaysian time) at Arkylk, Kazakhstan, after a journey of three hours and 23 minutes from the time the space capsule undocks from the ISS.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar had blasted into space on Oct 10 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, to become the first Malaysian in space. He had travelled with American astronaut Peggy Whitson and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko in the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft. Whitson and Malenchenko will remain in the ISS for six months.

He and crew members Fyodor Yuchikhin and Oleg Kotov are scheduled to land near the town of Arkylk in Kazakhstan at 6.37pm Malaysian time.

Unlike the two-day journey to the International Space Station, their return to earth would take less than three-and-a-half hours.

The three will be returning in the Soyuz TMA-10, the spacecraft used in the previous mission in April.

Commander Peggy Whitson, cosmonaut Yuri Malechenko and American Clay Anderson, would remain on the space station.

For their re-entry, the crew would occupy the descent module of the spacecraft.

The Soyuz would activate its systems at 3.15pm Malaysian time and after the go-ahead from flight controllers at Mission Control Centre Moscow, hooks and latches between the spacecraft and the Zarya node on the ISS will be opened.

Soyuz thrusters would be fired to back away from the ISS.

Six minutes after undocking, when the spacecraft is 20 metres away from the station, the separation procedure will be initiated by firing the craft’s rockets for 15 seconds, allowing the Soyuz to begin its departure from the ISS.

Re-entry begins less than two-and-a-half hours later at a distance of about 19km from the station. Here, the Soyuz engines will fire in retrograde (opposite) direction for four-and-a-half minutes.

This will slow the spacecraft down, enabling it to drop out of orbit to begin its fall to Earth.

Less than 30 minutes later, above the first traces of the Earth's atmosphere, the descent module's computers would command the separation of the three modules of the Soyuz.

The orbital module and the instrumentation module would separate from the descent module, shedding about two-thirds of the spacecraft's mass.

The two discarded modules would disintegrate upon re-entry into the atmosphere.

Three minutes after the module separation, the crew will feel the effects of gravity for the first time upon entering the atmosphere, a point called the "entry interface" about 120km above the Earth.

With less than 15 minutes to landing, when the Soyuz is at an altitude of about 10km and travelling about 220 metres per second, a series of parachutes would be deployed.

First, two pilot parachutes will be released, followed by a larger drogue parachute which stretches out over an area of 24 square metres.

Within 16 seconds, the drogue chute would slow the rate of descent to 80 metres per second.

The main parachute measuring 1,000 square metres is the last to emerge, slowing the speed of the descent module to seven metres per second.

When the module falls to an altitude of 12 metres, the vessel prepares for the Soft Landing Engine firing.

One metre above the surface and seconds before touchdown, the six propellant engines of the SLE are fired to soften the impact of the landing, allowing the descent module to touch down at a velocity of about 1.5 metres per second.

As the landing time approaches, a recovery team including Malaysian mission flight surgeon Col Dr Zulkeffeli Mat Jusoh and Russian crew support personnel would be scanning the landing area — a 10km radius of Arkylk, Kazakhstan — in a convoy of Russian military helicopters.

Once the capsule touches down, the helicopters would land nearby. Russian technicians will open the module’s hatch and remove the crew members one at a time.

Within minutes of landing, a portable medical tent would be set up near the capsule for the crew to change out of their launch and entry suits. They would be seated in special reclining chairs near the capsule for initial medical tests and to allow them to re-adapt to Earth's gravity.

As he only spent 11 days in space, Dr Muszaphar is expected to recover much faster than Yuchikhin and Kotov, who both spent six months in microgravity.

Great care will be taken to deliver the experiments to scientists when Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha lands on Sunday.

Everything from the packaging of the experiment kits to their transportation would be handled carefully, said head of the Malaysian scientific delegation Dr A. Rahman A. Jamal.

"When Dr Muszaphar lands, our engineers will be on hand to receive the items at the landing site in Kazakhstan, where they will be transported to Moscow to be given to our scientists."

This step was a crucial stage of the experiments, Rahman said yesterday.

"The specimens and kits will be marked as 'urgent cargo' because their safe delivery is essential to ensure they are not disturbed."

"The crystals in the 'Protein crystallisation in space' experiment, for instance, are brittle and sensitive to changes in temperature and sudden jolts."

Angkasawan programme engineers will help scientists upon retrieval of the experiments.

"The packaging was designed to preserve the contents. Our research has been made easier due to the engineers' help."

Malaysia' first Angkasawan will depart from the ISS on Sunday in the Soyuz 14S capsule with current ISS commander Feodor Yuchikin, who will be the capsule commander, and Oleg Kotov as flight engineer. 

The crew fitted their customised seats into the capsule and packing has also begun. On Wednesday, they rehearsed the capsule undocking exercise. 

The packing of cargo for the return trip goes according to weight distribution in the capsule. It is also because of weight distribution that Dr Sheikh Muszaphar had to lose 2kg prior to his trip into space. 

Of the 15kg he brought to the ISS, he will only be bringing back 7kg. This includes 200gm of his personal items.  

The experiments which Dr Sheikh Muszaphar conducted onboard the ISS have to be packed with utmost care because the impact of the Soyuz capsule's landing would be akin to that of an auto accident. 

The experiments have to be loaded into a special bag and the breakable protein crystals, for example, need to be able to withstand the landing impact.  

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Molecular Biology Institute (Umbi) director Prof Dr A. Rahman A. Jamal, who heads the scientific team, said that for this reason, engineering and logistics support was crucial, including the designing of special hardware and packaging.  

The cargo's retrieval becomes more crucial because the results of the scientists' and Dr Sheikh Muszaphar’s work in space have to be preserved and delivered intact.  

Upon landing, Astronautic Technology Sdn Bhd senior engineer Firdaus Othman will go to the landing site in Kazakhstan with National Angkasawan Programme director Kol Dr Zulkeffeli Mat Jusoh to retrieve the cargo and bring it here. 

"They have to be held steadily when being transported to Moscow. The temperature has to be maintained because the brittle crystals can break if it gets too cold," Dr Zulkeffeli said. 

Yesterday, a handover briefing for the ISS commandership was held. 

American Peggy Whitson, who was on the Soyuz 15S mission which brought Dr Sheikh Muszaphar and Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchencko to the ISS, will replace Yuchikin as ISS commander.  

The ISS crew is also busy with expansion work to set up the European Space Agency (ESA) module to make way for the European component to join the US and Russian modules to make up the ISS. 

The work involved American Clay Anderson carrying out a space walk to remove the US shuttle node to facilitate the construction of the ESA facility.  

"Although they are busy with expansion work, the crew still assists Dr Sheikh Muszaphar with his activities. He is contracted 10 hours of assistance and the commander will assign someone to help him," Dr Zulkeffeli said.

Astronauts returning to Earth on Sunday will be taking their seats with them.

Today, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha and International Space Station commander Feodor Yuchikin and medical doctor Oleg Kotov will transfer the seats used in their journeys to the ISS into the Soyuz craft which will take them back to Earth.

Each astronaut has a custom-made seat to fit his body to minimise discomfort during the descent and to cushion the effects of the landing.

Angkasawan programme director Col Dr Zulkeffeli Mat Jusoh said: "The astronauts will be returning not in the same Soyuz which Dr Muszaphar used earlier, but in another spacecraft which docked at the ISS in April."

"Landings are cushioned by small rockets on the descent module, but the effect will be similar to that of a car crash, so there’ll still be considerable impact. The seats are, therefore, essential to reduce possible injury."

After the seats are installed, other items such as specimens and experiment kits will be transferred gradually.

"From today, activities on the ISS for the returning crew will be less hectic to allow them to rest and prepare for the landing."

Dr Muszaphar's landing in Kazakhstan will mark the end of his nine-day stay on the ISS.

Yuchikin and Kotov, who have been on the ISS for six months, will be replaced by Dr Muszaphar’s former crew members Peggy Whitson and Yuri Malechenko.

Whitson will be the first female ISS commander.

Dr Zulkeffeli said the bulk of the things that Dr Muszaphar would take home were the experiments, followed by symbolic items such as the Malaysian flag.

"Under our contract with the Russians, he is allowed to bring back 5kg but as he is also conducting four experiments for the European Space Agency, he can bring down an additional 2kg."

"It is important to adhere to the weight limitations. The Soyuz is a dynamic object and must keep its balance during descent, so everything, including the weight of its occupants and the items inside, must be strictly controlled."

Among the tasks he must complete before Sunday include the packing of the experiment kits and specimens and downloading of pictures and videos of his activities on the ISS.

Tom Wolfe used the phrase “the right stuff” to describe what it took to be an astronaut.

The seven individuals selected for the United States’ Mercury programme in 1959 were all experienced aviators with exemplary backgrounds, academic records and service careers. All were paragons of physical fitness and moral rectitude. And all could transfer their cool heads and steely nerves to proper conduct before the world media.

Indeed, that was the point of their existence: not just to boldly go where no one had gone before, but for the world to watch them going. America’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo were not so much about "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth", as John F. Kennedy pledged in 1961, but to beat the Russians to it.

Not that the Russians had designs on the Moon. Their interests lay in Earth orbit. Sputnik’s pioneering flight 50 years ago this month had opened the heavens above America to Russian hardware. Just a dozen years after the end of World War Two, a basketball-sized satellite traversing the continental United States 223km overhead had boosted the Cold War to its final frontier.

When Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space in 1961, the die was cast. The US girded its collective loins for one mighty thrust. The first seven American astronauts were selected, based on whatever criteria combined to give each of them the Right Stuff.

They would become among the most famous individuals of their time; their subsequent successes (and failures) the stuff of modern legend.

In those turbulent times, America’s space programme provided spectacular diversions from its conflicts in East Asia and the tensions of the Cold War. The space race offered accomplishment and high drama, culminating in Neil Armstrong’s first words from the lunar surface on July 20, 1969: "That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." (Doomed by momentary transmission drop-out to forever contain those square brackets.)

No such glitch marred Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor’s paraphrasing of Armstrong's words on behalf of Malaysians last week. In the circumstances, it was as good a line as any and better than most. Our Sheikh was probably right to stick to the tried-and-tested on this momentous occasion. The Right Stuff does not generally include a tongue for poetry. (Space Shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless, who in 1984 became the first to fly untethered in space, uttered for posterity: “Hey, this is neat!")

By the time of McCandless’ neat feat, though, the deification of space travellers was past. Space travel was no longer for daring heroes but technocrats and professionals. The focus was on the much more utilitarian expansion of human industry to Earth orbit.

The richest irony of mankind's history in space, however, is that the Mercury and Vostok spacemen were not the first to fly there. That distinction went to Robert White and Joe Walker. Never world-famous, they were among the test pilots of the US Air Force's experimental X-15 rocket plane programme.

Both men flew the X-15 above the 100km "Karman Line", accepted as the boundary of space. They achieved this in total secrecy, as befit such endeavours at the height of the Cold War.

What truly set the X-15 pilots apart was that they actually piloted their aircraft to space and back.

While all the attention was on Mercury, Gemini and Apollo, test pilots at the edge of space above USAF bases in the remote deserts of Nevada and New Mexico were pointing their aircraft's needle noses straight up and firing liquid-oxygen rocket engines to break free of gravity and punch out of Earth's atmosphere into the black void beyond, then turn around for re-entry and the long glide home.

The X-15 — not the massive rockets of the American and Russian space efforts — was the true precursor to the Space Shuttle.

Once safely back on the ground, the X-15 pilots would go off to write up detailed flight reports and later share beers and cheers with peers out among the Joshua trees and tumbleweed in the middle of nowhere; unknown, unsung, uncelebrated — and completely uncaring of that. No ticker-tape parades. No live telecasts. No presidential handshakes. No problem.

Passed over for the honour of becoming the first astronauts in favour of those whose Right Stuff included being mediagenic, the X-15 pilots grumbled a little about how astronauts didn't actually do anything: the rockets shot them up, telemetry controlled their capsules and parachutes brought them back.

There was nothing to it; the first higher life-form in space had been a Russian dog named Laika. A chimpanzee could have done it. Sending humans up had been a PR decision. This rankled with the Mercury Seven so badly, by the time of John Glenn's first orbital flight in 1962, they'd insisted on having some pilot control designed into their capsules.

All the way to the lunar missions of Apollos 11 through 17, much was made of the astronauts actually flying their lunar modules in the final descent to the Moon's surface. It was the pride of pilots; the egos had landed.

Such is the myth and mystique of space exploration. Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, the 458th human in space, is an orthopaedist, not a Sukhoi pilot. He inherits the legacy of the Mercury Seven, not the X-15. And as it was for the Mercury Seven, his real mission will begin upon his safe arrival back on terra firma.

The celebrity that awaits him will be overwhelming. The demands on his time and person will be relentless. His transition from male model to role model will be complete. He will be a one-man institution; perhaps even an industry.

He'd better have the right staff.

He will return with Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov in the Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft which the two Russian cosmonauts had used to go to the ISS in April on Expedition 15.

National Angkasawan Programme Director Col Dr Zulkeffeli Mat Jusoh said the spacecraft carrying the three astronauts was expected to land in the Arkylk region of Kazakhstan, some 1,500 kilometres from Moscow.

For the return journey, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor has to ensure that his weight is 82 kilogrammes, just as it was when he left for the ISS on October 10 aboard the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft which is now docked at the ISS.

"If his weight has exceeded the 82 kilogrammes while in the ISS, he will be required to reduce his weight through exercise in a special cubicle in the ISS. This is to maintain equilibrium in the Soyuz spacecraft the three astronauts will be returning to earth in," he told Bernama when contacted in Moscow yesterday.

Dr Zulkeffeli said he would leave for Qostanay in Kazakhstan, not far from where the Soyuz capsule was expected to land, to bring Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor to Moscow.

"I have to be there to give Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor a medical examination. He will be brought to a temporary medical centre before being taken to the nearest airport to be flown to the Star City astronaut training centre in Moscow," he said.

He said the Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft was expected to land at 2.37 pm Moscow time (6.37 pm in Malaysia), and that it would take eight hours after landing to reach the Russian capital.

Dr Zulkeffeli said the preparations Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor had to make included relocating his special seat to the Soyuz spacecraft and listing the paraphernalia he would bring back to earth with him.

The Malaysian astronaut is allowed to carry up to seven kilogrammes of paraphernalia, including the findings of his research projects and personal belongings.

"By right, he is only allowed to carry up to five kilogrammes but the European Space Agency (ESA) acceded to our request to allow the additional two kilogrammes," he said.

Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor had also conducted experiments for ESA on the effects of micro gravity on the back of the human body, motor perception, resilience before and after being in the ISS, and stability of sight and the body.

Yurchinkhin will hand over command of the ISS to Whitson on Sunday.

The NASA comment riled many Malaysians.

Malaysia's Science, Techology and Innovations Minister, Datuk Seri Jamaludin Jarjis, told Bernama that Dr Muszaphar would be recognised as a cosmonaut - the Russian equivalent of the astronaut - next month.

COSMONAUT

He said that an official recognition ceremony for the angkasawan as a cosmonaut would be held in Moscow on 11Nov following his return from space on 21Oct.

'Some countries might question this, but to me, it is not important. What matters is that the candidate was selected and trained by Russia and the country recognises him as a true cosmonaut,' he told reporters earlier this month.

His comments came after NASA had described Dr Muszaphar as a 'space flight participant' on its website.

NASA described the Malaysian as a 'spaceflight participant... flying under contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency'.

The Malaysian minister told journalists: 'The Russians themselves had told our man that he is a cosmonaut, and that's the end of the story.'

He added that it was the Russians who had selected the candidate and will be sending the Malaysian angkasawan to space and therefore it is appropriate for them to give the recognition and not the US.

But the comments on the Internet did not die down.

Some Malaysians saw the trip as a waste of money.

The US$25 million ($37m) agreement for the Malaysian to fly to space was negotiated in 2003 along with a US$900 million deal for Malaysia to buy 18 Russian fighter jets.

Criticism of the cost of the trip led to officials avoiding any mention of it, other than to say it is part of a US$900 million defence deal.

One reader named Jong commented in Raja Petra's blogsite, Malaysia Today: 'So what if Russia's space agency has recognised him as a cosmonaut?'

'That's unnecessary spending just to soothe the ego of the government while price hike on petrol and basic food items since last year have greatly affected the ordinary people who find it difficult to make ends meet. This is most irresponsible on the part of the government!'

The Malaysian government did not see it that way.

In an interview with the Voice of American, Science, Technology and Innovations Minister Jamaluddin Jarjis, said he hoped the space mission would inspire a new generation of Malaysian scientists.

'Putting our man, our Malaysian man in space, is basically - we want to raise the bar for Malaysia in terms of acquiring knowledge for the future, especially the young ones, the five million kids in school,' he said.

It remains to be seen whether the space trip would inspire Malaysians to take up science but Dr Muszaphar has caught the imagination of the Malaysian public. The handsome bachelor has become a national heartthrob.

Even though NASA described him as a spaceflight participant, the 35-year-old orthopaedic surgeon is not an idle space passenger. He will perform experiments involving diseases and the effects of microgravity and space radiation on cells and genes.

On Monday, he had a nine-minute chat with 24 Malaysian schoolchildren via radio and showed them how a top spun in space kept spinning non-stop.

Last night, he spoke to Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in a video conference.

Critics of the space trip seem to have quietened down in recent days.

As blogger Ahirudin Attan noted in his column, Rocky's Bru, after watching the rocket carrying DrMuszaphar take off: 'There've been a lot of verbal fights about the decision to send a Malaysian up there. But to quote this person sitting across the table enjoying his glass of wine: 'Call him an angkasawan, a cosmonaut, a space participant, or whatever you like... that's the first Malaysian in space there!'.

CCI will be doing feeds both from its Cape Canaveral studio and Russia.

Coverage of the nine-day event is broadcast on a channel exclusively set up on Malaysian television. The channel includes launch coverage, live video messages from ISS and the return to Earth with the Expedition 15 crew of ISS.

CCI produced two one-hour documentaries and shot interviews with the Malaysian astronaut candidates in Houston, Texas, while there for NASA training. CCI also hired an American astronaut to serve as space expert in Kuala Lumpur for the duration of the mission.

"We've had a lot of VIPs come through our facilities in Cape Canaveral over the years, but when the Malaysian minister of science and technology arrived here for the contract meetings with his entourage in an actual motorcade, it was like something out of a movie," says CCI General Manager Jim Lewis.

CCI is a Florida-based, audiovisual communications company headquartered in Cape Canaveral with a new HD facility located at Universal Studios Orlando.

National Angkasawan Programme director Kol Dr Zulkeffeli Mat Jusoh said by being in space, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar is exposed to certain unnatural conditions and risks including exposure to radiation equivalent to five chest X-rays daily, while micro-gravity causes redistribution of his body fluid. 

Kol Dr Zulkeffeli, who is also his flight surgeon, said the Angkasawan's health status had to be monitored constantly as his normal body function would be affected. 

These effects on humans in space are also being studied under the European Space Agency and Japanese Space Exploration Agency (Jaxa) experiments, of which Dr Sheikh Muszaphar is participating as a specimen. 

For the ESA, he uses the agency's eye-tracking device to record his visual vestibular mismatch or how micro-gravity affects his balance, and the extent eye movements trigger motion sickness.

Under the Jaxa study, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar's exposure to radiation is measured through a dosimeter placed inside his pocket. 

Dr Zulkeffeli said that the level of radiation exposure was "sensitive (classified) information" and even the crewmember would not like to know how much radiation they were exposed to. Space conditions are also said to affect the crewmen's sperm count. 

"The Russians said the most vulnerable area is the sleeping cabin so the crew do not like to sleep there," said Dr Zulkeffeli. 

For active protection, the crew wear protective clothing and the ISS shell has aluminium coating and a shield to deflect solar radiation. 

"The ISS' positioning according to the sun location on each orbit is also to protect against solar radiation and not only to position the ISS solar panel," he said. 

He added that the solar activity was monitored minute-by-minute by ground control staff who predicted the level to position the ISS away from exposure.

THE International Space Station may be more than 350km above Earth but the well-being of astronauts on board is closely monitored by the Mission Control Centre in Moscow.

"I think it is justified to embark on the space science programme when you look at the excitement you are going to build in the young people in the space programme development." 

"There are a lot of things going on in space for Malaysia," Gibson, 61, from Nashville, Tennessee told a press conference after a presentation on his aeronautical experiences at the astronaut road show at Universiti Malaysia Sabah on Tuesday. 

Although there were smart ways to send people to space without spending RM100mil for each mission, he said there were partnership ways to do it and team work arrangements that might be accomplished. 

"Sure, we could walk over to Russia and say look I will pay RM20mil. That is one way you could do it. I am sure there are smarter ways to do it, with that in mind I think it is appropriate it (space mission) should be continued," he added. 

Malaysia sent her first Angkasawan to space as part of a package deal with Russia in return for buying fighter jets. 

Gibson, who has been to space five times, is here talk to youths about a career in space. 

He said sending a Malaysian into space was a good message to youths in the country, as there were plenty of opportunities in space – from being a scientist or an engineer, among other things.