2011-10-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

"A SMALL STEP FOR ME, BUT AGIANT LEAP FOR ALL MALAYSIANS!" the first Malaysian cosmonaut.

Fullname: Dr Sheikh MuszapharShukor Al-Masrie Bin Datuk Sheikh Mustapha Sheikh Shukor.

Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor (bornSheikh Muszaphar Shukor Al Masrie bin Sheikh Mustapha on July 27, 1972) is aMalaysian orthopedic surgeon and is the first Malaysian to go into space. Hewas launched to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz TMA-11 with theExpedition 16 crew on October 10, 2007. Sheikh Muszaphar flew under anagreement with Russia through the Malaysian Angkasawan Program, and returned toearth on October 21, 2007, aboard Soyuz TMA-10 with the Expedition 15 crewmembers, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov, after nine days aboard the station.

Sheikh Muszaphar was born in Kuala Lumpur and attended high school at MaktabRendah Sains MARA in Muar. He then earned a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgerydegree from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, India. He was pursuing hisMasters of Surgery in Orthopaedic Surgery at University Kebangsaan Malaysiawhen he joined the Angkasawan Program.

Sheikh Muszaphar is an orthopedic surgeon and a university medical officer inmedicine at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. In 1998, Sheikh Muszapharworked at Hospital Seremban, followed by a move to Kuala Lumpur GeneralHospital in 1999, and was on staff at Hospital Selayang from 2000 through 2001.Sheikh Muszaphar is also a part-time model.

Sheikh Muszaphar and three other finalists were selected at the beginning of2006 for the Malaysian Angkasawan spaceflight program. The program arose afterRussia agreed to transport one Malaysian to the ISS as part of a multi-billionpurchase of 18 Russian Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighter jets by Malaysia. Aftercompleting initial training at Star City in Russia, Sheikh Muszaphar and FaizKhaleed were selected to undergo an 18-month training program in Russia, at theend of which Sheikh Muszaphar was chosen as the prime crew member, while FaizKhaleed served as back-up. Following the final medical tests and trainingexaminations, on September 17, it was announced that Sheikh Muszaphar would beflying on Soyuz 11.

During a NASA news conference with the Expedition 16 crew on July 23, 2007, andnews conferences following his selection, Sheikh Muszaphar said he hoped to beable to take various live cell cultures to study during his flight.

Sheikh Muszaphar performed experiments on board the International Space Stationrelating to the characteristics and growth of liver cancer and leukemia cells,the crystallisation of various proteins and microbes in space. The experimentsrelating to liver cancer, leukemia cells and microbes will benefit generalscience and medical research, while the experiments relating to thecrystallisation of proteins, lipases in this case, will directly benefit localindustries.

Being a Muslim, and since his time in space coincided with the last part ofRamadan, the Islamic National Fatwa Council drew up the first comprehensiveguidebook for Muslims in space. The 18-page guidebook is titled"Guidelines For Performing Islamic Rites (Ibadah) At The InternationalSpace Station", and details issues such as how to pray in a low-gravityenvironment, how to locate Mecca from the ISS, how to determine prayer times,and issues surrounding fasting.

The orbit of the ISS results in one day/night cycle every 90 minutes, so theissues of fasting during Ramadan are also addressed. The guidebook will betranslated into Russian, Arabic, and English. Anan C. Mohd, from Malaysia'sDepartment of Islamic Development said that fasting while traveling isoptional, so Sheikh Muszaphar could choose what he would like to do, but if hedid decide to fast in space, the times would be centered around local time inBaikonur, where the launch takes place.

Sheikh Muszaphar celebrated Eid ul-Fitr aboard the station, and packed somesatay and cookies to hand out to the rest of the crew on October 13, 2007 tomark the end of Ramadan.

Flying as a guest of the Russian government and especially before his officialinauguration by ROSCOSMOS, Sheikh Muszaphar was referred to as a spaceflightparticipant in the NASA website which created an uproar among his fans.

Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor