Japan Invites Thai Students And Researchers To Join Its Space Activities

[Jai Dee]

Japan invites Thai students and researchers to join its space activities

Students and researchers are invited to join two space experimental projects with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) which are the first step towards creating Thailand’s first astronaut.

Caretaker Science and Technology Minister Prawit Rattanapian (ประวิช รัตนเพียร) said university students can form a group of three each and submit their research projects for experimenting on board a JAXA zero-gravity aircraft.

Mr. Prawit said JAXA will select one Thai student to go on that flight early next year. That person will be the first Thai student to be on a zero-gravity flight who can also help pave way for the training of the first Thai astronaut, he said..

JAXA operates parabolic flights for two days every year. It manages the up-and-down parabolas eight to 15 times per flight to create weightlessness for about 20 seconds each time.

Mr. Prawit said Thai researchers, meanwhile, can submit their research projects to JAXA which will select some of them for experimenting on the International Space Station in 2008.

Further details are available at www.tmc.nstda.or.th/jaxa.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 July 2006