Vrooomm vroom!

Hello hello assalamualaikum. How’s your day today? Is everything fine? *snooping eyes*

Today, I feel like telling a story about our very first astronaut lah.

Is there anybody who doesn't know who he is?

Well his name is Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al-Masrie bin Sheikh Mustapha. Was born on July 27, 1972. Two years younger than my mama. Aha. And also, he is an orthopedist.

If you ever attempt to ask me, “kau ni minat sangat ke kat dia ni wei rini?” I’ll proudly answer, YESSSSSS!

He is my inspiration. Hello I even read everything about him okayyy. From tonnes of newspapers, google sources, magazines, as well as book he wrote. Not to mention, also the book written by his late brother, ‘Reaching for The Stars’.

You wanna know how fanatic I am of him, do you? Herher

FYI (if you don’t know), he was launched to the space on Oct 10, 2007. I was standard 5 at that particular year. 7 years ago wehhh haha. He was launched from Baikonour, Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan with two other astronauts (or they call it cosmonaut in Russia), Yuri Malenchenko (Russia) and Peggy Whitson (America). Haaa since his departure, untillll he came back to the Earth, I read newspaper every day. I repeat EVERY DAY. I rarely read newspaper but then because of him I read. I read newspapers because I wanna keep up to date about him though. I wonder what he does there, how he sleeps, what he eats, haa.

If I’m not mistaken, he went to International Space Station (ISS) in Ramadhan, 3 days before Syawal. So, you can imagine how we (Muslims in Earth) were quite busy for the preparation of the eid. You know what, Dr. Muszaphar brought lemang, ketupat, rendang and those raya stuffs to the space haha. But all of the food had been re-packaged by MARDI, which will be suitable on the non-gravitational area.

Then on the eid day, just same like other people, I went back to my ‘kampung’. What I’ve read from the paper, the rocket that he boarded on was Soyuz TMA-11. This rocket orbited on the space for three days, because it couldn’t manage to combine with ISS yet. Well, you know right there is no gravitational force on space, so that’s why it was hard for Soyuz to dock with ISS. (The right term for it is not combine, but dock. Ehehe). After three days, Soyuz managed to dock with ISS.

And because at that time was eid season, so my family and I were busy visiting our relatives, I didn’t have the time to read newspapers. I cried. I swear that I was really really sad at that time. (Weh rini kau nangis? Biar betul … ) Yes, seriously I did. I rarely cry you know aha. Don’t laugh at me laaaa.

When he was at space, he was doing an experiment of crystallization of some bacteria which I can’t really remember. (Ok jap meh aku try korek kepala otak aku). I think the name of the bacteria is helicobater lipase. I think though, I can’t be sure about it. I don’t want to google it later you’ll say tak aci pulok. This experiment was done as an alternative to search for cancer treatment. I just know that, I don’t know about it in detail.

Then he came back to Earth 10 days after that. To be precise, on Oct 21, 2007 with two other crews, Fyodor Yurchikin and Oleg Kotov. Soyuz undock with ISS. Dr. Muszaphar said that when the capsule was entering the atmosphere of the Earth, they were facing with 9G force. I don’t know exactly what 9G force is, but what I know about it is, the force is too strong that they can’t breathe by using normal breathing. They can’t breathe using mouth and nose, because if they do so, their blood capillaries will explode (or burst, the proper word used in biology. *sigh*). Our blood capillaries are not able to withstand such high pressure. How did they breathe then?! *two hands on the cheeks*. Wait wait cool man. They breathed by using abdomen. Abdomen is stomach lahh. Dr. Muszaphar had learned this back then when he and Dr. Faiz Khaleed were having training at Russia for two years.

But then, a brother of his was admitted in ICU when he was still on space. From what I’ve read on newspaper, a signboard from a restaurant was fallen onto his brother’s head. He died a few days after that accident. The time Dr. Muszaphar reached Earth, not even his parents were informed about this because his other siblings don’t want to make them worry, plus, they don’t want to ruin their parents’ happiness seeing him returned from space safely. And when his parents were told about this, they were reluctant to tell him because he was very close with his brother, they afraid that Dr. Muszaphar couldn’t accept the fact that his brother has gone. But still, they told him about this when he was quarantined. Who even doesn’t sad wehh when we got the thing we want, but at the same time we lose something else. He then quickly book a flight ticket to Malaysia. When he reached home, they had buried his brother.

I don’t know what else to tell you haha. But, I want to stress here that I’m really really proud of him lahh.

Dyou wanna know a fact?

Actually, before this, I got sbp. Sekolah Menengah Sains Kuala Selangor, shortform for it is kusess (Kuala Selangor Science School). But I only stayed for a week though haha. Because I got mrsm, yayyyy. I really really, badly, want mrsm, ever since I was in standard 5, ever since I knew Dr. Muszaphar is an ex-mrsm student. He was in MRSM Muar before. I even wanted to apply for MRSM Muar when filling in the MARA form hahah. But my mama didn’t allow me to do so, yeah of course lahh because I stay at puchong, why do I have to go until johor kannn. (Actually I don't even mind of being separated far from my family but yeah, a mother won't let us go *wink wink*).

Zzzzz see, even sbp I rejected hahah. I wanna be a doctor, and I wanna be an astronaut too. I believe  Malaysia boleh! ^^

Rini Amira, FIGHTING!!