This is my very first visit to Malaysia and it is a  beautiful country. It consists of thirteen states and  three federal  territories and has a total landmass of 329,847 square  kilometres  (127,350 sq mi).  The country is separated by the South China Sea into  two regions, Peninsular  Malaysia and Malaysian  Borneo (also known as  West and East Malaysia respectively). 
Science Policy  in Malaysia is regulated by the Ministry of Science, Technology,  and  Environment. Malaysia is one of the world's  largest exporters of  semiconductor devices, electrical goods, and information  and  communication technology products. In 2002  the Malaysian National Space  Agency  (Angkasa) was formed to deal with all of Malaysia's activities  in space, and to  promote space education and space experiments. In  early 2006, Sheikh  Muszaphar Shukor and three other finalists were  selected for the Angkasawan  spaceflight program.
Sheikh  Muszaphar Shukor became the first Malaysian to go into Space in October  2007, making Malaysia the 37th Nation to have visited Space. He  traveled on board a Soyuz TMA-11 with the Expedition 16 crew to the ISS.  
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| Astronaut Peggy Whitson (right), Expedition 16 commander; Russia's  Federal Space Agency cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, flight engineer and  Soyuz commander; and Malaysian spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar  Shukor pose for a portrait following a pre-flight press conference at  the Johnson Space Center. Whitson, Malenchenko and Shukor are scheduled  to launch to the International Space Station in a Soyuz spacecraft in  October 2007 | 
I am telling you all of this because there are  some many wonderful connections to all of this. First and foremost,  Sheikh's fellow astronauts on TMA-11 were Yuri Malenchenko and Peggy  Whitson. And once on board the ISS, they joined my dear friend Clay  Anderson, who was then replaced later in October by Astronaut Daniel  Tani, who I also got to meet very recently. As you can see, with only  approx. 530 people having visited Space, you are bound to find some fun  connections. 
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| Flat Peggy & I at JSC | 
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| 3D Clay & I at JSC | 
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| Astro-Blue-Color-Brothers, Dan & I at KSC | 
But let's go back to the reason why I am  in Malaysia. I was invited by the Melaka Planetarium to attend their  Melaka Space Carnival as part of NASA's Exploration & Discoveries in  the new Millennium. I am part of a very impressive team, ranging from  NASA HQ, JPL, and GSFC. Everybody brings something special to the table  and over the next few days, we will have various activities throughout  the day. For example, we will show Science Themed Exhibits and videos,  show computer based simulations, show Marscape and Earthscape, have  hands-on activities, lectures, workshops, video conferences and so much  more. Kids, students, teachers and everybody else can come and be part  of our activities at the beautiful Melaka Planetarium. 
Science Themed Exhibits
We will teach about NASA's latest exploration and discoveries
- Universe; Discoveries of the New Millenium
- Sun
- Mars
- Earth and its Climate
- Natural Hazards
- Humans in Space
Hands-on Activities
- Scale Modeling of the Solar System
- UV Beads as part of UV Light/Sun
- Global Warming in Action
- Straw Rockets
- Building a Spectroscope
- View the Sun with a Solar Telescope 
- Robotic Exploration
- Color Your Favorite Space Picture (for the very young ones!)
Workshop for Teachers
  NASA has a wide variety of resources available for both teachers and  students. Both the teacher and student websites offer numerous learning  tools and are a resource for teachers.  In this Teacher Workshop the  NASA Education Office will show how to navigate through the numerous  amount of information to find what you need on the NASA Education  website. You will explore some of the tools you can use to inspire,  excite, and engage your students.  Topics of discussion include NASA’s  Digital Learning Network (DLN), NASA eClips™, Podcasts, Students’ Cloud  Observations Online (S’COOL), Smart Skies, and more.
 
Talks by NASA Professionals 
  
Investigating the Earth’s Climate and Natural Hazards 
Tom Nolan
Flight Instruments Operations Engineer
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
 
 
The Sun and Us 
Dr. GopalswamyNatchimuthuk,
Heliophysicist
NASA GSFC
Robotic Space Exploration and Next Missions to Mars 
Mr. Paulo Younse
Robotics Engineer
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Astronomy in the New Millennium 
Jaya Bajpayee
Program Executive for Operating Missions
Astrophysics Division
Science Mission Directorate
NASA HQ
Video Conferences with NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL)
Mars 
“Hitting the Road on Mars: The Legacy of the 2004 Mars Exploration Rovers and the next Missions to Mars” 
 
Nagin Cox
 
 
Robotic Planetary Exploration 
“Future of U.S. Robotic Planetary Exploration”
 
RandiiWessen
 
 
Climate 
Amber Jenkins