Minister of Science Technology & Innovation : Vanmitha Is Going To be An Astronaut

 Here is a fantastic story. There is something called the Career Astronaut Competition run by some (American?) outfit called AdvancingX.  Sounds like an Elon Musk outfit.

It is a competition that is spread over FIVE years and over a few stages to select career astronauts to participate in space programs.  You can read more about it here .

Here is a gist :

The Career Astronaut competition offers STEM and art focused individuals from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to experience space training, potential space travel and opportunities for space related careers. 

Identifying Career Astronauts is a 5-year competitive process designed as a part-time program that can easily fit within most work or school schedules. 

Candidates get the opportunity to take part in the largest optimal team design research and training to ever take place anywhere in the world. 

Some of these challenges will take Career Astronaut Candidates into extinct lava tunnels, to remote research labs, and deep underwater. 

Candidates will learn team skills, survival strategies, and astronaut training techniques that will prepare them for space flight. 

As candidates move forward through the competition they will be faced with several carefully designed challenges to help identify and measure team cognitive functional characteristics capable of taking on extreme environment circumstances like those found in space. 

Challenges include social engagements, survival, and simulated zero gravity tasks designed to prepare Career Astronauts for not only missions in suborbital space, on the moon, or beyond but to also work together as a team.

In addition to the knowledge, skills and abilities obtained from the Career Astronaut competition, one team of four will be selected for a trip to suborbital space! 

Well what do you know - there is a Malaysian candidate who is a participant in this Career Astronaut Competition and "she" has already passed Stage 1 and is now headed for Stage 2.  Her name is Vanmitha Athimoolam.

Vanmitha was born in Ipoh in 2000 and raised in Klang. She attended SJK (T) Simpang Lima and later scored 10As in her SPM in 2017.  Post-SPM she attended  Kelantan Matriculation College. She is now a second year student at  USM Penang doing a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering

Here is a short video of Vanmitha Athimoolam :

You can see that Vanmitha is determined to her give her best space shot for her space career.

This is really interesting news. The world has not only shrunk but it is fully connected. Vanmitha is going to space through the Internet. 

I would like to wish Vanmitha Athimoolam success in Stage 2 and that she gets selected as a Career Astronaut.  

We are all fully behind you Vanmitha. Do us proud.  Syabas.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.