A Malaysian could be walking on the moon by 2020 if the country’s current space programme proves to be successful, the country’s science and technology minister Jamaludin Jarjis said Saturday.
“We must show to the world Malaysia can send its first astronaut to the International Outer Space Station. We must look at our capabilities,” Jamaludin was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.
If Malaysia is “justified to embark on the mission, we will do it,” he added.
Russia is to send Malaysia’s first cosmonaut into space by 2007 as part of a scientific mission aboard the International Space Station.
Nearly 900 candidates are undergoing a series of rigorous tests to be selected in Malaysia’s 25 million dollar space program.
Jamaluddin said a proposal on a lunar mission by 2020 would be forwarded to the cabinet soon, adding that Malaysians would like to see a fellow citizen on the moon.
Russia and Malaysia signed a deal in August 2003 to send the first Malaysian cosmonaut into space onboard Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft.
It is part of a billion-dollar deal for Malaysia to purchase 18 Sukhoi 30-MKM fighter jets.
