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It will be a memorable “galactic” occasion when space explorers from around the globe attend the wedding of Malaysia’s first astronaut, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, on Sunday. His bride is Dr Halina Mohd Yunos, an anaesthetist at the Selayang Hospital.
The guest list includes the first human to perform a spacewalk Alexei Leonov, the first woman in space Valentina Tereshkova, and the first Korean and second Asian woman in space Seyeon Yi. Speaking to students from eight primary and secondary schools here during a campus space walk programme held at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia yesterday, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar also extended an invitation to the students to attend his wedding.
The space explorers are here for the Association of Space Explorers congress which ends on Sunday. Malaysia is the first South-East Asian nation to host the event. The congress, themed “1Planet, 1Hope, 1Future”, saw over 60 space explorers going to 11 universities around the country to give talks about the future of space exploration.
Dr Sheikh Muszaphar urged the students to “dream big” and assured them that nothing was impossible, adding that it had been his childhood ambition to become an astronaut.
Leonov, who was one of 20 air force pilots selected to be part of the first cosmonaut group in 1960, spoke about his experience of being the first person to perform a spacewalk and advised students to study hard so that they too could make their dreams come true, like Dr Muszaphar.
Mohamad Rusydi Ibrahim, 16, from SM Teknik Kuala Lumpur, said he was excited to meet the astronauts and scientists. “I am very interested in physics,” he said. Dharshini Komagan, 16, who aspires to be an aeronautical engineer, was delighted to speak to Tereshkova, who had a crater on the far side of the moon named after her. “It is a dream come true to meet the first woman in space,” she said.