PETALING JAYA, Oct 5 — Planetarium Negara officially kicked off World Space Week (WSW) in Malaysia yesterday.
In collaboration with Spacevio, a newly-formed consortium of space-minded communities, the WSW celebrations this year will be the biggest ever held in our country’s history with over 50 workshops and programmes planned.
Spacevio, which stands for Volunteering Involving Organisations for Space, is a consortium of space-minded organisations including AstroX, Planetarium Negara, Scouts Association of Malaysia, UniKL MIAT, Malaysia Space Initiatives and Apadilangit.
The official launch held yesterday at Planetarium Negara and attended by the Science, Technology and Innovation Deputy Minister Ahmad Amzad Hashim, kicked off the start of WSW, a week-long event to celebrate the contributions of space science and technology in the betterment of human condition.
WSW is celebrated every year from October 4 to 10, to commemorate two special dates in space history, with this year’s theme, called “Satellites Improve Life”, focusing on the pivotal role the space-borne devices play in our lives.
The start date (October 4) marks the successful launch of the world’s first artificial satellite Sputnik in 1957, while the end date on October 10 represents the coming into force of the United Nations Space Treaty in 1967 — which binds international parties to use outer space only for peaceful purposes.
This year’s event in Malaysia will feature a range of different activities, programmes and workshops, catered for all ages, in both physical and virtual sessions.
It also provides the perfect opportunity to introduce and showcase our local experts in the field of space education and space commerce.
Some of the activities lined up include hands-on workshops about telescopes, satellites and rockets and webinars with local space professionals like Malaysia’s first astronaut Datuk Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor Sheikh Mustapha.
There will also be online quizzes, video premieres and virtual tours lined up for the younger generations with a Nasa-based Mars Exploration online five-day virtual course also available for kids aged 10 to 13.
During the week, Planetarium Negara and Spacevio have also organised virtual ultra-marathons such as the Sputnik Run and Spatra (Space-Ultra) Run to create more awareness on the importance of satellites in our daily lives.
Spacevio head Captain Faiz Kamaluddin, a former Angkasawan trainee, said in a press release that the WSW events in Malaysia this week are aimed at creating more awareness about the possibilities of what the space industry can offer Malaysians, with the long-term goal of creating future space leaders in our country.
He also said that everyone in the industry should band together during the celebrations and use their knowledge and love for space to inspire future generations.
“We have been promoting the knowledge of science to schoolchildren across Malaysia for over ten years now.
“Our efforts are making an impact but by forming a network with space industry players through events like this, I believe that we can accelerate the growth of this sector by leveraging on each other’s strengths and expertise,” said Faiz.
Spacevio will also be having special space exploration workshops for blind and hearing-impaired students in Seremban and a satellite launching competition for schools in Perak and satellite model design competition at the Planetarium during the week.
The official launch of WSW at the Planetarium also saw the opening of multiple expositions in accordance with the week-long celebrations such as the KL Sci-Fi Weekend exhibition and the Planetarium’s mural exhibition.
For more information on the WSW event and programme schedules, you can check out the official Malaysian World Space Week Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/wsw2020) or surf over to www.spacevio.org.
