NEWS N UPDATES

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Collections of questions n answers from yahoo group.(Please do not ask the same

 questions again!) IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TO ASK TO DR.SHEIKH,PLEASE SEND ALL THE

 QUESTIONS TO YAHOO GROUP.YOU CANNOT POST ANY QUESTIONS HERE!!

12TH NOV 2007

NEWS N UPDATES FROM DR.SHEIKH

From Angkasawan Negara .

To all group members ,

I have just completed my inauguration of being an angkasawan and am still in Moscow. I will be leaving
to Europe for a few days taking my parents for a much needed break ( especially my mom ) and will be back
most likely on the 23rd to Malaysia. I am now ready to play my role as an angkasawan.

Thank you so much for your doa and support especially during my difficult times for my late brother Ajil. I
am sure God has His reason for taking away his life and I truly believe in Qada and Qadar.

Many asked me to give talks at their schools. Believe me , if it is in my power I would go to every schools
there is but MOSTI would decided which schools are a priority. I will try to plan with Adiena and the ahli
AJK for the best time to meet the fanclub once I get my schedule programme for the entire year.

I would read your messages almost everyday and I find them very entertaining. Forgive me for not being able
to reply. The very best of luck to our adik-adik who will be
sitting for their SPM . Thank you again for your support . I will enclose some
pictures through our moderator.

Never doubt that this is the real me who reads your mails as many questioned is this the real Dr Sheikh
reading this.

Lots of love
Dr Sheikh
Angkasawan Negara

23RD OCT 2007

Questions from:MARZHAN< marzhan3@rambler.ru

Dear Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor!

It’s your Kazakhstani fan, Marzhan writing to you again. In my previous letters I expressed my great admiration with you, and I also sent an e-card on Eid ul-Fitr to you last week. I hope you read that e-card with
my wishes. And in my last message I thanked your parents for bringing up such a worthy citizen, clever and purposeful man, as you are. I think it is really a great happiness to have such a son as you are. I hope your
parents and relatives will always have the reasons of being proud of you in future.

Now I would like to ask you some questions. Will you write me please, is Sheikh is title or part of your name? As I
am Kazakh, I can’t quite understand it. I saw the photos of your family at one of fan-club sites and word “Sheikh” was written just in front of names of all your brothers. That’s why I ask this question. Sorry for asking this question, but I really haven’t met Malaysian names before and I am interested in it. One more question also concerns your name. Will you write what does name Muszaphar mean? I think it is of Arabic origin but I haven’t found in Internet the meaning of your name. I am a philologist, and I am interested in antroponymics. It is a branch of linguistics that studies the origin and translations of human names. So, I like to find out the origin and meaning of Muslim names.

And one more question. I read you learnt French and Arabic languages. And now you learn the Russian but you find it to be rather difficult. I would like to know when and why you learnt French and Arabic? I like
French very much, it is such a beautiful language. Last year I began taking French lessons in Alliance Francaise. But despite my great love for this language I had to give up the course, as I found French language to be more difficult than English one.

How did you manage to learn French and Arabic languages? May be I must be more persistent in
making my dream of speaking French true? And how is your learning of the Russian language going on? What do you find most difficult in learning of Russian? May be, grammar? Which language do you speak there in space,
while communicating with Russian and US astronauts? I know the Russian and Chinese languages are considered to be the most difficult languages in the world. In Kazakhstan, we fluently speak Russian, as our republic
was part of Soviet Union in past. Ya zhelayu vam uspekhov v izhuchenii russkogo yazyka. (It’s wish of successful learning written in Russian, I hope you understand transliteration).

I think, it’s all for today with my questions. They appeared to be on linguistic themes. I hope very much you will answer these questions of your Kazakshatni admirer. I will be VERY OBLIGED to you if you respond
me from your personal e-mail, as I would like to correspond with you and
receive answers on my numerous questions about your life and scientific
work.

Best wishes,
Marzhan
 

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

Dear Marzhan ,

Sheikh is actually my family name. My name is Muszaphar means traveller as in " musafir " in arabic.
I learned French for 2 years while I was studying medicine in India. Arabic I learned when I was little
since it's a good way to understand the Koran. Russian language is very challenging becoz it has 6
cases and 3 genders which I find very interesting.

24TH JULY 2007

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH(THE QT IS FROM RAJA DARIA WHO CLAIMED THAT SHE HAD CHAT  WITH DR.SHEIKH,IT'S NOT REALLY A QT SO I PREFER NOT TO COPY PASTE HER QT BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT THE QT WAS APPROPRIATE TO BE POSTED HERE.

" Chat " is not my thing !

Dear Raja Daria ,

I dont " chat ' ever in my life.
Sorry for the inconvinence.

Dr Sheikh

 

24TH JULY 2007

Questions from:Fazlina Zahid <lynn_eiki87@yahoo.com

hai doc....

 i was wondering how the ISS got the electrical
power supply in space?
 i knew from my reading that the solar array will
 be used to supply the power,but how it's
 work?Another question is,what kind of materials that
 they used to build that complicated station in
 space?
 Hope you can answers that as i really keen to know
about it.
Enjoy your days in Houstan..
Take care...

FAZLINA
 

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

Dear Fazlina ,

Most of the power supply is obtained from the many large solar arrays that is on the ISS. It converts
solar energy to electrical supply. The ISS is rotated in the manner that the solar arrays are always pointed
towards the sun. The ISS also have a back up power supply system.

The ISS is made from many modules which are built from ground. It is then brought to space through a large
unmanned space rocket and will be fixed by the cosmonaut engineers onboard the ISS.
That explains the many spacewalk conducted in space.
 

24TH JULY 2007

Questions from:azlina m.said <memet_lina@yahoo.com

Hi doc..tu cerita pasal solar storm.mcm plak dulu saya pernah terbaca artikel pasal.. sejarah
angkasawan naik ke bulan tu sebenarnya tak ada.Maksudnya tak pernah sampai ke bulan.Saya dah
tak ingat artikel tu sbb dah lama tp agak menarik jugak.So pendapat Doc plak?..
 

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

Man on the moon !

Dear Azlina ,

Many thought that it was a hoax for the American astronauts to walk on the moon. Some say that it was
made in the studio itself. But believe me....since I am now in the astronaut
corps , I do know for a fact that he Americans did land on the moon.

I met John Young today who drove the buggie on the moon. So far there have been 12 people who had walked
on the moon from Apollo 11 - Apollo 17 ( except Apollo 13 ).

Dr Sheikh
 

24TH JULY 2007

Questions from:azlina m.said <memet_lina@yahoo.com

Doc.. u kena makan byk to cover balik 6.5kg yg doc dah hilangkan tu.. we all kat sini runsing doc kurus
sgt,nanti energy kurang la plak..byk lagi task yg perlu doc jalani...okay.

Dear Azlina ,

Thanks for your concern. Personally I dont think that
I am thin.
In fact , I have never felt better in my life. I felt
great.

Dr Sheikh

23TH JULY 2007

NEWS N UPDATES FROM DR.SHEIKH

I'm in Houston !

24TH JULY 2007

Questions from:Ismalina ismail <queen_heart@yahoo.com

Salam to all and especially to Dr.,

Sungguh mencabar sekali training di Laut Hitam, di Ukraine. Alhamdulillah, Dr. berdua dah selesai
 menjalaninya. Saya ada menonton rancangan National Geographic
 berkenaan Ribut Solar ataupun The Solar Storm. Dalam rancangan tersebut, ada disebut, bahawa
angkawasan terdedah kepada bencana ribut solar yang
berpunca dari aktiviti matahari.

Angkasawan yang berada ISS tidak dapat mengelak dari bencana ini. Kesan daripada bencana solar storm ini
adalah barah dan juga penyakit lain. Walaubagaimanapun, saintis dapat meramal kejadian ini.
 What is your comment regarding this matter?

Salam,
 Is,

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

Solar Storm

Dear Is ,

It's true one of the hazard of going to space is radiation not only from the sun but also from the
stars. The ISS is made in such a way that it prevents the penetration of radiation into the ISS although
there are some form that passes through the station. There's a personal dosimeter which monitors every
astronauts exposure to radiation.

A day on the ISS is similar to 10 times a person take chest X-Ray in a single day. The risk is always there.
But isn't that what life is about ?

Dr Sheikh

18TH JULY 2007

NEWS N UPDATES FROM DR.SHEIKH

My first day in Ukraine

31ST MAY 2007

NEWS N UPDATES FROM DR.SHEIKH

Medical Tests !

To colleagues and friends ,

Some say " Time is like a blink of an eye " which I totally agree with. I can't believe that I have been in StarCity for the past 8 months. It seems like yesterday that I just completed my 3.5 km run in the beginning of the angkasawan selection process. How time flies .

I have just completed my Medical test  and it has been a very hectic 2 weeks. Cosmonauts need to undergo medical tests every 3 months to ensure they are in tiptop condition. I am so used to being a lab rat allowing them to do all those tests on us. It used to be me examining patients and it's really weird to be on the other side of the table getting examined instead. Blood , urine , etc samples are given , ultrasound , Echo , OPG Dental , Bicycle Stress test , 24 Hour BP and ECG and many more.  These are normal routines but this time we did have our aerochamber , spinning chair and the centrifuge which has been a challenge for me personally.

Aerochamber : This test is to test how well you cope with low oxygen saturation at a very high altitude level. Just like climbing mountains where the oxygen saturation just gets less and it becomes difficult for you to breathe.
We were placed in a chamber and were brought to a height of 5000 meters at a rate of 50 metres per second. That's considered a pretty fast ascend. Oxygens are on standby in case we get disorientated , confused , delirium or even loss of consciousness. There will be many speacilists watching us from outside the chamber monitoring our condition . This lasted for 30 minutes and I occupy my time with reading some magazines. There are times when my Oxygen saturation dips to 88% . But I just felt great not having any side effects.

Spinning chair : Every cosmonauts tend to hate this chair as it makes you feel nauseus and lousy . It's truly an important test to see how you cope in microgravity. In space , you wouldn't know which is up or down and your brain tends to become confused. Hence adaptation prior to flight is very important. When I saw the spinning chair , I thought it was cool as the seats are made of Recario - which is a racing seat and only after the session I tend to realize why. The doctors strap you with medical monitoring and spin you with a rate of 360 degrees in 2 seconds. You are required to move your head from left to right and up and down and this goes on and on till you feel wanting to vomit. To make matters worse they ask you to close your eyes. Personally I felt that I am being swung on every direction like a pendulum. The doctors would know how you feel by looking at your signs : increase heart rate , sweating , cold clammy palms , BP shooting up etc. I did quite well reaching 15 minutes. It wasnt a record but considered excellent.

Centrifuge : I have always felt goosebumps when I go into a centrifuge. They have the biggest centrifuge in the world in StarCity which can fit upto 2 people. There are 2 kinds of force GZ and GX. For GZ the force will be acting from the head to toe vertically which normally occurs on jetfighter pilots when they maneuvre or make a U turn. Bloodflow will decrease flowing to your brain and you could lose consciousness. I remembered performing this in Subang reaching upto 9GZ and when it was over , you tend to have bleeding spots on your skin due to rupture of the capillaries upon too much straining. But then you need to strain , to pump blood from your legs and abdomen to reach your brain . And the taller you are , the more difficult as the distance is much greater. How I wish I was born short again.

Since we have done 9GZ , performing 8GX in StarCity was a piece of cake. The force is acting towards your chest , just like driving a Ferrari with a speed of 200 km/hr without the hood or windows. Imagine 8 times your bodyweight pressing on your chest and you just couldn't breathe. Therefore they teach you to breathe through your abdomen . For me , that's 640kg pressing on my chest !  During those spinning which lasted several minutes , they tested your vision on small numbers , lights , etc.

I'm glad everything went pretty smoothly . Our final medical examination will be somewhere in August. Am I looking forward to that ? Probably.
I will be going back to Malaysia somewhere in the mid of June ( around 20th ) for about 3 weeks. Our prime minister is planning to make a visit to StarCity somewhere on the 17th of June. I haven't gotten the dates yet nor do I know my schedule when I am in Malaysia. But am looking forward to meeting all of you to share my experiences. You would be the first one to know of the dates.

To all teachers , wishing all of you a " Selamat Hari Guru ". They say ," better late than never. " Keep up the good work on educating the students . And for all students out there, never forget their invaluable deeds .

I enclosed some pictures through Adiena . Till we meet again and take care.

Love
Dr Sheikh

 30TH MAY 2007

Questions from:syarfaina <syarfaina@yahoo.com>

i'm wondering

wat it would be like..u know, for beeing u. definitely a fav :)
 

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

13TH MAY 2007

NEWS N UPDATES FROM DR.SHEIKH

Parabolic flight !

To all friends and colleagues....

I had my first taste of flying and Oh Boy ....! It was totally unbelievable.
I remembered dreaming wanting to fly when I was six years old and I guess dreams do turn into reality.

We had the opportunity to perform the parabolic flight last week where astronauts could simulate the feeling of microgravity. Just like in space . There's no such thing as zero gravity as there is always an indefinite amount , hence the word microgravity
The parabolic flight is also called the " vomit comet " as I'm sure the reason is quite obvious. Fortunately I didnt feel any dizziness or wanting to vomit during those flights. But I did prepare myself for not having any breakfast at all prior to that...which I regret much later as I was left hungry throughout.

We left at 0700 am with the rest of the cosmonauts to the military base airport which is very close to StarCity. It was a IL76MDK plane which was slightly smaller than the airbus. There was no seats inside and the floor is filled with padded foam to prevent injury. We put on our parachute and was given some briefings in case of emergency. I wasnt paying much attention on the briefing since my Russian cosmonauts friends promised me that we would hold on tight together and jump at the same time in case anything happen. My crazy Russian friends !

The plane would fly up to a height of 6km. Then abruptly it would rise up to a height of 9km with an angle inclination of 50 degrees and come back down again to its original position. During these times you started to float and fly around lasting for 25-28 seconds. These process will be repeated upto 10 times and we are required to perform several tasks like moving from wall to wall , floor to ceiling holding on tight to a rope and moving a 50kg weightload which felt as light as a feather. We were supposed to do 2 flights but end up doing once since there was a problem with the engines. Hence we are doing it again on the 8th of June. This time wearing a spacesuit . That ought to be fun.

Most likely we would be going back somewhere on the 18th of June for about 3-4 weeks to discuss some experiments with the Malaysian scientists. I'm truly looking forward to go back . I wouldn't call it a vacation as there are so many things to do when we get back and that includes PR work. I'm really hoping to visit schoolchildren and students this time.  And I think the aerospace exhibition would have started by then.

Once we come back to StarCity , it would be straight to sea survival at the Black Sea in southern Russia from 16th-23rd of July and straight to Houston for a one week training stint on the US module. " Time is like a blinking of an eye when you do things you enjoy most "

I would like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all our mothers in Malaysia. It takes big sacrifices to raise a child . So to all children out there , this is the best time to show your appreciation. Every year I would buy my mom a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolate and treat her to a fancy dinner. But then ...the best gift would be a kiss on the cheek and a few words to say that you love her.

Till we meet again.
Wassalam

Dr Sheikh

9TH MAY 2007

MESSAGE from:tea_boneflabby89 <tea_boneflabby89@yahoo.com

1st message to Dr Sheikh ... (^_^)

aslmkm .. hellow !! tis is currently my first writin to tis group .(^_^) juz finish struggling fer my midterm exam .. huhu .. hopin tat
our feveret dr is doin really fine in russia .. glad tat u r happy wit ur life tere .. huhu .. jz wanna wish dr sheikh all the best in
everytin u do.. i noe ur passion goes beyond everytin .. hopin tat ur spirit will fuse into myself too.. hehe .. nwy,, jz wanna send u few msg fwm my friends .. i actually brought ur pix in the parabolic flight to my schools n everyone turned crazy .. tey said u look extremely smart in front of the plane .. funny when most of tem said " OK !! I soo want to be lyk him !" do u c hw u really influence t youngsters lyk us !! huhu .. my school is goin fer t aerospace xhibition too !! i'm t
first to register !! hope 2 c ya tere !! glad tat u r comin bck to the hometown .. huhu .. nwy,, my fren's + my + my family's msg >>> wish ya all the best in ur training + b tough + keep up ur smartness + make malaysians proud + stay wit ur so humble attitude + smile in whatever u do cz u never noe who's fallin in love wit ur smile + take a good care
of urself but most of all WE LOVE YOU OUR IDOL !! all the best yea !!

sincerely from the students of SMK CONVENT KAJANG n SHAZLIDA SHAFEE ..
any words to us ?? to make us study harder maybe .. huhu .. till
then .. asslmkm .. nite2 !!
 

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

Best Wishes !

To SMK Convent Kajang , ( Shazlida )
Do your best in whatever you do.
Work hard and play hard too.
Believing in yourself is the attitude that must be in you
But most importantly , enjoy what you do !

I wish all of you best wishes and success.
 

Dr Sheikh
 

30TH APRIL 2007

Questions from:kat_921207 <kat_921207@yahoo.com

assalamualaikum.. dr sheikh.. and utk sume yg ada kt sini. harap sume
sihat belaka. sy nak tanya satu soalan boleh.. Harap2 dr sudi
menjawabnya. Agaknya macamana keadaan berpuasa di angkasa lepas ...
waktu berbuka puasa.. rasenya dr pergi ke sana bulan ramadhan kan..
Harap dr dapat menjawab soalan ni. Apepun, saya sekeluarga mendoakan
kejayaan dr disana.. Good luck.. Kat-taiping,perak
 

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

To Miss Taiping ,

Puasa adalah wajib bagi semua umat Islam.
I will continue to do the same even when I'm in space.
Things will just be the same just like on earth.

30TH APRIL 2007

MESSAGE from:zippy_wippycrest <zippy_wippycrest@yahoo.com

hye..first of all..congratulations 4 being da 1st muslim malaysian
astronout...at school,my ustazah always tell me n my fellow friends some stories
about u...she oso printed ur message for us 2 read it at the end of
the lesson..we r very proud of u..u r soo genius..!!~from that..i've
learn many things..me n my fellow friends at smk st bernadette's
convent,bt gajah like 2 wish u all da best..!!~thx 4 reading..im
really appreciate it..tq 4 ur time..
assalamualaikum..!!!~
 

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

To SMK St. Bernadette's  Convent Bt Gajah ,

Wishing the best to all of you students  ,
Study hard and aim high.!
Education is the key to success.
Believe in your dreams at all times and never give up.

Love
Dr Sheikh
 

25TH APRIL 2007

MESSAGE from:essandra_sandra <essandra_sandra@yahoo.com

Dr,i'm 16 from johor bahru..still on my form 4 year and will be
faced SPM next year..actually,i'm one of your fans and always take u
as an example in my study because i'm taking science stream and
really want to be a doctor one day..so as my inspiration i hope u
will do the best for our country as well as for the
world..insyallah..hope to see your reply,dr...g.bye

with luv,
n.faezza

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

To Sandra ,

Study hard and focus on your studies. Im sure you will succeed and achieve your goal. At the same time , dont forget to have fun too !

Dr Sheikh

25TH APRIL 2007

COMPLIMENTS from:marsha22172 <marsha22172@yahoo.com.my

thank you 4 your inspirations...

Assalamualaikum Dr Sheikh , adiena & all members of the group...

First of all, hope not too late to congratulate Dr Sheikh 4 being the 1st Muslim Malaysian astronaut...definitely, all malaysians and I are so proud of you. man of the history. I ve got no opportunity to follow your glory last year due to my bad health condition as I was hospitalized 7 times...the night u departed to Russia, the same night I was admited 4 the 6th time. Only in early February i started to surf the angkasawan blog and i was excited to read all the articles wrote by u & dr Faiz.i always pray to Allah that He will bless both of u with good health and strength, pouring His rahmat and give His protection in whatever both of u are doing 4 the sake of Islam and the Nation. Well, sometimes we don't know how our action or thoughts will inspire a lot of people out there. The more i read about u and ur writings...i was really inspired by those thoughts...i wish i could have ur brain dr sheikh...i was touched by ur email when u & dr faiz were in Siberia..how u adapt urself in tough situations and how ur immediate action to save the Russian really impressed me, and i shared the story with all my students in class...i don't know why but i really feel something inside....I hope Dr Sheikh, when u completed ur mission to be the 1st Malaysian man on the moon..u will come back and share all ur knowledge,experiences and skills with us and i'm looking forward to that moment..be a motivator or write ur biography and i'll be the 1st person to buy how expensive it is...i love to read biography book and the last biography book i read was about J.K Rowling- an iron lady behind Harry Potter...as a teacher i need to have a lot of knowledge so that i could share with my girls and teach better...i think adiena will agree with me...being a teacher nowadays is so challenging but i love the job...it makes me

 alive...so i need an inspirational person like u to help me...giving ideas and motivations for us to move on..i
printed all ur articles and emails so i could read it repeatedly as i have lack of time to sit infront of the computer...do write more
Dr sheikh and i do believe...u write from ur open heart and ur sincerety make ur writings so good and touch the heart of people
like me and stimulate my brain too...i guess i've to stop here and i hope i'm not taking a lot of ur time to read my email. Hope ti
write to u soon and if u got a little time, do reply, i really appreciate it. Thank u 4 ur time.Can i share some pieces of advise
and hope u don't mind for this reminder...

1) Start everything u do with BISMILLAHIRRAHMANIRRAHIM so that u'll
be rewarded with 'pahala'and what u do considered as ibadah.
2) I know u're a positive-minded person but as a human there's time
we feel like giving up...so if u are in that situation recite this
zikr as many as u can -" LAA HAU LA WALA QUWWATA ILLA
BILLAHIL 'ALIYYIL 'AZIM ",i think u know that.
Million of thanks again 4 reading my mail.

To adiena, bunch of thanks 4 setting up Dr sheikh's website...i
really appreciate what u did, u re so creative... i like that.hope
to keep in touch next time...i'm a teacher as well so there's a lot
of things that we can share. till then...assalamualaikum.
 

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

Dear Marsha ,

Keep up the good work on motivating the schoolchildren. I hope you will be in the best of health. And thank you again for your wishes and doa. I shall remember the ayat Al-Quran that you gave me.

Dr Sheikh

25TH APRIL 2007

CURIOSITY & DOUBTFUL from:nurfaezahmasod86 <nurfaezahmasod86@yahoo.com>

Is a real Dr Sheikh behind this group? i mean did he (or maybe u for
that matter) have such a time to..u know visit this website (or any
other website) apart his hectic life in moscow (or any other place)?

23RD APRIL 2007

Questions from:minnie_mouse_cool <minnie_mouse_cool@yahoo.com.my>

assalammualaikum terlbh dhulu...nak taula,btul ke Dr Sheikh Muszaphar
ni da nak kahwin???dngr org ckp je.nk tau lbh lnjut drpd mulut Dr
Sheikh Muszaphar sndri..apapun,nk wish congrate pd Dr coz da terplih
sbgai angkswn ngara..

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

When would I settle down ?

Dear minnie mouse...

You sure are a mouse by asking those questions.

Referring to your question .....I planned to settle down by 2009 once my contract  is over. I cant believe it took me that long. These are part of the sacrifices I am willing to make for the sake of the nation. In fact I would do anything for the country for I truly believe :

" It's not what the country could do for you , but what you could do for the country . "

My goal was to settle down at the age of 35 ( following the footstep of my dad ).
I did postpone my marriage for the sake of the angkasawan programme.
Why do I marry late ? I believe marriage comes only once and hopefully by then you are physically , mentally and financially more stable. You tend to be wiser and more focus. ( In my opinion of course ).

By 2009 I will reach 37 ( hopefully not too old by then ) . There are times you need to readjust your goal in life depending on your priority. I'm sure it would be worth it. I sure hope so. Our faith has been written and sometimes we just have to follow destiny.

Dr Sheikh
 

22ND APRIL 2007

Questions from:nurzamhuda zamli <hudagambate@yahoo.com>

Assalamualaikum Dr. My name is Huda Zamlee, from Ipoh Perak. I am a 3rd year medical student from Hospital University Sains Malaysia. I'm going to sit for my professional exam soon. I'd like to ask you one simple question but it's pretty important  for me. How do you manage your stress during your med school? My first and second year in med school was quite ok for me, but when it comes into the clinical year,  it's become a huge stress. Paling tak tahan, during history taking, and clinical case presentation, especially in CNS block.  And I am quite worry about it, the palpitation always disturb me. I know, majority of med student have the same problem too. Dr, if you got some time, please write something about it, ya.Thank you, and sorry for any grammar mistakes. Good luck for you.

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

Dear Nurzamhuda ,

First of all congratulations for being halfway there on reaching your goal to become a doctor.

How to overcome stress ?

Stress is a state of mind when the mind tells the body that they are not ready. It tells the body that you are ill prepared and couldn't handle the situation. In other words , the mind is not strong enough. The body has enpowered the mind telling the mind how the body feels . This occurs a lot but if you can train your mind to be mentally strong , the mind should be the one who dictates here. That's what mental strength is all about. It doesn't matter if the body is physically exhausted or couldn't even step an inch or you dont get enough sleep , ...for if your mind says to go on , the body has no choice but to keep on going. That is why sometimes you heard of miracle stories all around the world . The fact is this is only really tested during extreme conditions  or when you are in a difficult state. Most of us dont realize how strong the mind can be. You are always in the comfort zone so your mind is never really tested.

But how do you achieve this ? I wish I knew ..for the brain is still a mystery and there's so much the medical society does not know about. But I do know that you have to relax your mind , visualize your goals many many times before you go to sleep and believing in it ! I relax my mind by doing the thing I love most ...and that is scubadiving ( which I havent done for the past one year )

As for you Syahirah ...besides preparing youirself theoretically with knowledge for the exams , keep on telling yourself that everything will go on well , visualize the scenario that you wanted the day before and dont forget to pray too. And whatever happens never give up. Keep on trying.

Wishing you goodluck and success!
Dr Sheikh

22ND APRIL 2007

Questions from:syahirah_angkasa <syahirah_angkasa@yahoo.com>

hello dr!!! i hope you'll be fine there... and i really confident that
you're the person that will be announce by Pak lah as Malaysian's
First Astonout!!!! no offence Dr Faiz!! because you are tremenderous!!!

i would ask you something, may i?

1. how you accostom with you life's motto "believe on yourself" is
that mean when you believe on yourself you'll acheive anything that
you want?

2. how's Russian's culture? is there anything interesting?

sorry, masa gathering tu saya tak dapat hadir sebab, kekangan masa and
its to far... insyaAllah... i hope to see you...when you come back
soon..

till then, hope i can get the answer... and i hope you will a
sucessful astronout!!!! Malaysia Boleh!!

wassalam...
Nur Syahirah-Kedah,Malaysia

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

Dear Syahirah ,

Thanks for your wishes.
Believing in yourself means whatever you desire , you know deep inside that you can achieve your dream without any doubts. There's no turning back once you have made up your mind in doing something because you know sooner or later you will definitely achieve them no matter how hard you fall. You get up , strive harder and focus on that goal. I have come to a stage where I believe I could succeed in whatever field I venture into Insyaalah. Your self confidence must reach the highest level. Doesn't matter what people say ,you just proceed. And stick to people who have a positive outlook at all times.

Russian culture is just wonderful. They are rich with culture and tradition. There's so many things to do. Arts , museum , architecture , history. I find them very fascinating.

Wishing you success.
Dr Sheikh
 

9TH APRIL 2007

NEWS N UPDATES FROM DR.SHEIKH

Dear colleagues and friends , ( and Noraini )

How I divide my time :

Many asked me how do I do it ? How do you do 4 jobs at once ?  But more importantly , how do you succeed in these fields ?

To be honest with you , the reason I diversify myself is to see how far my potential is. You will never know until you take those risks . You have to live outside the comfort zone in order to see your true strength. And I believe somehow the body and the mind can adapt to whatever the situation is , provided that you are strong mentally and believe in yourself. I believe the mind is a powerful tool , extraodinary is the better word. This is what separates humanbeing to others.

Am I successful ? I dont think so...but I do know that I am on the right path. No matter what happens , I would not giveup and lose focus. Every failure makes me a better person. I learn from my mistakes and move on . Each time I fall , I will get up and keep on running again , this time with a faster speed. Of course faith comes into the picture too . But I believe God will not dismay you if you work hard with sincerity , passionate and with an open heart.

I believe there's more than 24 hours in a day. In my head , there's actually 36 hours in a day depending how you manage your time. If you really analyze one's life , there's so much time wasting . If you can cut down on your "mengelamun ", bersembang at a coffee shop , daydreaming , sitting on your desk pretending to be working etc ,  - there's 5 hours right there you could save ! No offense , but I love to daydream once in a while too.

My point is ...each day note down the things that you want or have to do. Dont procrastinate. Only then you reward yourself  . Especially to students out there... the brain has the capacity to concentrate for not more than 45 minutes . You then need a 5-10 minutes break. I can never understand how one could just sit and keep on reading for hours . I can never do that . My bum hurts for sitting too long. We are not talking about reading a story book here. We are talking about facts . I like to jot down the things that I read in point form and after 45 minutes , I would close the book and write them down again and again. This way it helps me to stick it to my brain permanently.

For 3 years I slept for only 4 hours a day , every single day including Sundays. That was when I open my restaurant , modelling and working as a surgeon at the same time. But I dont get tired because I enjoyed every moment of it. My body has gotten accustomed to it . And now when I have the time to sleep , I just couldn't sleep as I need to readjust my sleep pattern. This is just an example of how your body could adapt to one's needs. To be frank , I am more relaxed here in StarCity compared to my life back home for I could at least get 7 hours of sleep here preparing for the very next day.

 I hope that answers Noraini's question and many others .

As for prayers , though the ISS complete an orbit every 90 minutes ( meaning the sun will rise for every 45 minutes and sets at every 45 minutes and the ISS orbits earth 16 times in a day ), we will still be praying 5 times a day according to the Greenwich time. As for Qiblat , we would just be facing earth .

Dr Sheikh
 

6TH APRIL 2007

NEWS N UPDATES FROM DR.SHEIKH

To all colleagues and friends ,

Sorry for not responding for quite some time. I am not using " busy " as an excuse for I know , I always get frustrated when people tell me they have no time....busy..etc. " There's always time for everything . "

Things are getting pretty hectic lately. We have been having exams every week and there's so much studying and reading to do. We had exams on Controlpanels of the soyouz , Radiocommunication of the soyouz and I had just finished life support system of the spacevehicle. So far , the exams have been going pretty well and it wasn't that difficult.  I think we did kind of impress the Russians ( I hope ) .

Most of our classes have been simulation in the soyouz learning every detailed of the control panels , buttons and it's functions. The more I learned about them , the more impressed I am with the Soyouz vehicle. Mostly every switches have it's backup redundancy to ensure safety. Even docking the soyouz to the spacestation are done automatically. Talk about technology ! But of course you need to know all the manuals in case of emergency or depressurization. There are times the crew had to dock manually due to system failure. That is why we need to know everything to prepare for the unknown.

We have also started to learn the spacestation ISS on board. The ISS are more complicated as there are more structures and panels. They have the same mockup of the spacestation here in Star City , so we would be in our blue flightsuit  and classes are right in the ISS. Of course we also work on 3D dimensions on the computer screen. Being in the soyouz with your spacesuit for 3 hours could be difficult sometimes as your legs start to cramp . There are times I wish that I am born smaller in size . Being tall doesnt really help when it comes to being an astronaut. During G load , it takes a longer distance for the bloodflow to be pumped out from your legs to your upper body especially at 9 G's. But then , I'm not complaining.

April 12 would be " cosmonaut day ". That's the date for the first man in space Yuri Gagarin. Exactly on 12th April 1961. Many astronauts would come down to StarCity to celebrate as it has been a tradition for many many years. The Russians have lots of traditions and some are quite fascinating . For instance before the launch in Baikonaur every cosmonauts are required to pee at the wheel of a bus at a designated area before entering the hatch . Yuri Gagarin did it and many others followed. I wonder whether I need to follow the tradition when the time comes.

April 7 is the launching date for the soyouz 10 at Baikonaur including Charles Simonyi the space tourist. The 2 Russians will continue staying on the ISS for 6 months while Charles would spend about 10 days in space. He paid USD$20 million for it. I probably would have done the same thing too if I had the money.

I just realized that I have been here in StarCity for the past 6 months. How time flies ! It seems like yesterday that I have just arrived. Winter turn into spring . The weather has been great though I missed the freezing coldness. I have met many astronauts along the way. Some of my best buddies here are Russian cosmonauts who are actually training to go to Mars. But I do admit that sometimes I do miss home. No matter how far you go , there's no place like home. When would I be back ? I have not the slightest idea but would let you know if there's any news.

I heard of the space exhibition which would be held in Subang from June to August 2007. My advice to all of you is not to miss out on this lifetime opportunity as it would be a great way to know more about space. The BURAN would be brought along from Russia for the exhibition and that would be really exciting. For those who have kids , bring them along and expose them about space at a very early age as this will stimulate their mind. Who knows ...your child might be the next angkasawan.

I wish all of you success in life and always stay positive and focus.
Be what you want to be ...but be passionate about it !
Till then
wassalam

Dr Sheikh

14TH MARCH 2007

NEWS N UPDATES FROM DR.SHEIKH

Dear colleague and friends ,

This week has been an interesting week for me. We actually have to taste some spacefood that will be brought up to space. There's a total of 120 types of food and for the next 5 days from Monday till Friday we will have to taste all of them and rate them according to your likings. 0 - if you hate them , 5 if you think it's average and a 9 if you really love them . For a man who owns a restaurant , I know what food is about for I dine out a lot. I am very particular when it comes to food quality and taste. Dont get me wrong ! I am not fussy when it comes to food as I can eat almost anything , but I am very passionate on food . There's a saying that says " you are what you eat " and I believe that.

Spacefood is not that tasty because they are either freeze dried , canned or vacuum packed. Your taste bud  will also change once you are in space. So it doesnt really matter. So far I have only rated one variety a "9" which is the Russian milk. I just love milk , the low fat one of course !
Some of the menu are as follows :

Assorted meat
Beef tongue in jelly - pretty exotic
Beef mayonnaise
Pudding meat and vegetable
Fish in Baltika sauce
Fish in tomato sauce
Zucchini saute
Pureed vegetable soup
Moscow rye bread
Mutton soup
milk , tea and coffee

Everyday we have to taste about 30 varieties and Oh Boy ! Am I stuffed after all those. I guess I have to work out more at the gym this week. Sometime next week  , we are required to eat the selected food for a total of 5 days and nothing else. They wanted to see how our body reacted to them. Do we get hungry ? Could our stomach cope well with the food ? Of course these are the food that will be eaten in space only by you. We are still awaiting on the approval of the Malaysian food to be brought up to space. Hope that will work out well.

Classes have been great too. We are learning more of the soyouz rocket and I am collecting as much materials as I could hoping once the programme is over , I could teach the Malaysian engineers on building a spacevehicle.
I'm behaving more like an engineer now which is far away from my Medical line. Lots of physics are involved and many calculations The Russians are very accurate and detailed in every aspect. I have the utmost respect towards them.

Wishing congratulations to all of you out there for your SPM results. Life will start to change once you are in the university. Never lose focus and always have goals in life . Let it be a short term , mid term and a long term and write them in your black book. I used to write mine on the ceiling above my bed and will read them outloud each time before I go to sleep. It's really a powerful tool for success.

Sorry I have to end here as there's so much reading to do. Promise I will write more next week.

Till we meet again. Good luck
Dr Sheikh
 

8TH MARCH 2007

NEWS N UPDATES FROM DR.SHEIKH

Assalamualaikum semua ,

Today is a holiday in Russia. It's the women's day . The tradition is ; we have to buy gifts , chocolates and flowers to all the women that we knew whether they are colleagues , friends or staffs. I bought some flowers for my Russian teachers and friends. The Russian are considered romantic people. They love to buy flowers for their loved ones which I totally agree with the concept as I know how much women love flowers. Florists in Moscow are everywhere and they open 24 hours.
You cant just buy any flower to a lady. Each flower has it's meaning. Even the amount of flowers that you give has it's meaning. Flowers to say hello , flowers to say that I finally accepted you and they even have flowers to say goodbye and lets get on with our lives.

Spring is on the air. I could smell it. The snows has start melting and the road has become slippery. I dont use my bicycle anymore. It's just too slippery. I walk to classes instead. The weather has been great . It's about minus 1 degrees. The sun is always up too. No more snowflakes pouring down. Life is just beautiful.

On the 6th of March was Valentina Tereshkova's birthday - the first woman in space and this Friday is Yuri Gagarin's birthday. They have so many celebrations here and just being there with the cosmonauts make you learn so much of their culture and tradition.

The Korean astronauts have started their training here in Star City. They were selected from 35000 people. Ko San and So Yan. A man and a woman with engineering background. I guess the Asians are invading Star City. They are very nice people. But from what I see, the lady Korean are stronger mentally though the man is actually a bronze medallist boxer in South Korea .

I will try to write more stories on a weekly basis to keep you more updated.
Till then

PS. Wishing all Malaysian women a Happy and Beloved Day. Today is your Day and make sure they treat you with respect !

Dr Sheikh

25TH FEBRUARY 2007

NEWS N UPDATES FROM DR.SHEIKH

To all my friends ,

Sorry it has been a long time since I last wrote to all of you. Things have been quite hectic here. The weather has been getting worse reaching upto minus 25 degrees here. It's getting tougher to cycle to class nowadays so I have decided to walk instead.

My elder brother just got married today and I had a live teleconference with them. It was pretty sad not to be able to attend the wedding but I guess that's part of the compromise I have to make. It did went pretty smooth and I was able to watch the whole ceremony fom Star City.

2 weeks ago I had my seat liner and spacesuit made. They measured every part of your body even your fingers to make sure the gloves fit. You had to be in the plaster cast 3 times to make sure it hardens and finally they mould to make them the perfect fit. It was interesting to see how the Russians do it ....very conservative but yet very practical.

We have finished all our experiment theory classes and starting next week it would be studying the soyouz rocket itself. That would be very interesting to learn about them. The pace has picked up even in our physical training. We are carrying more weights , more distance in the pool upto 1-1.5km non stop and the cycling too. We cant do any running outside as it is too slippery and cold.

So far everything has been great and am looking forward for the next phase. When am I going back to Malaysia again ? I have no idea but I assure you that all of you will be the first one to know.

Till then
From Russia with Love

Dr Sheikh

4TH FEBRUARY 2007

Questions from:farah <bitchark_505@yahoo.com

1.Well,during your leisure time,what else do you do besides visiting
historical places and museums?Or do you do simple things like others
do like watching movies or maybe shopping?

2.Do you listen to musics while working out?If yes,what kind of music?

3.Last but not least,what is your best physical
feature?Eyes?Nose?Lips?and why?

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

Dear Farah ,

1. I have started skating here which is really great though I fell many times. I go to movies with my cosmonaut friends and just to lay back and relax. Im so engorged into this book by Neil Amstrong " My life story " right now and it's very fascinating.

2. I like listening to slow songs when I go to sleep but when I work out I would rather listen to slow rock like Def Lepperd and Scorpion. Bon Jovi is my favourite though. And so is Roxette ( I dont know whether you heard of them ).

3. My best physical features - I really dont know. Never thought about it.

Sheikh

1ST FEBRUARY 2007

My winter survival experience !.

My Experience during Winter Survival :

First of all thank you so much to all of you for the prayers of wishing me success  for my winter survival. It has been a freezing cold experience for me throughout but was glad it was over. I lost 4 kg just on those 3 days . As I said again and again..., mental strength plays the most important role to overcome any hardship.

Our winter survival began from the 25th-27th January about 20km from Star City deep into the forest. We were not brought to Siberia since the weather was cold enough hence the reason. Snows were everywhere and the temperature was minus 20 degrees.

The crew consists of me , Faiz and a Russian commander named Alexander Stochkov. His English wasnt that good so we were communicating in Russian most of the time. Body language does help sometimes. We first changed into our spacesuit and were placed into the soyouz which were upside down. It was so small that our bodies were compressed to each other and took us 2 hours to change from the suit into our winter clothings - long john , flight suit , sweater and thermal suit a total of 4 layers. Everything has to be done in the soyouz before opening the hatch and we had to take turns as it was too cramped inside.
That's the reason why claustrophobic is one of the test done to select astronauts.

We then had to build shelter using the trees and the parachute provided. The tepi as it was called is like a Red Indian house ( pics provided ) with a hole on top for the smoke to come out. I keep on cutting trees for firewood to keep myself warm. Firesignals from tree branches should be kept ready at all times in case a helicopter passes by. Radiocommunication is done every hour and we take turns doing them. The food consists of prune , biscuits , chocolate in tablet form and tea powder while water is limited to 6 litres for 3 days supplies - 400ml 1st day , 650ml 2nd day and 950ml for the 3rd day. At night , we would be in the tepi shelter as it is too cold outside. Hence it's important to compile as much firewood as you could. I burnt the sole of my shoes that night while sleeping without even feeling them but fortunately the commander put them out. I slept for an hour for the first day and 2 hours during the second night.

We take turns taking care of the fire at night . On the 3rd day , we were instructed through the radiocommunication to go to an open area where the chopper would help us. Somehow after walking for a distance , the scenario was the commander slipped and fell with a broken leg which we have no idea about it . Thankfully being an Ortopaedic helps me in treating the fractured leg using a splint made from tree branches , pain killer was given , a stretcher made and we had to carry him through ravine , bushes and thick snow for about a km before reaching the site. I then had to release a signalflare to alert the helicopter.
The Russians later praised us for our quick thinking on managing the injured person as they gave us the worst scenario. If only we knew , we could have planned earlier.

The reason for the winter survival was in case upon soyouz landing in the deep snow , the maximum days for them to locate us was 3 days. Hence it is essential for us to keep surviving for those duration until help arrives. There have been 2 cases where the soyouz landed deep into the forest and into the sea instead of Baikonaur , Kazakhstan. All the food and clothings are always in the soyouz under and behind the seats.

Overall it has been a great experience and am looking forward to the sea survival at the Black Sea , Russia somewhere in May. That would be tougher as we would be floating in the soyouz and sea for 3 days. But I have always been comfortable in water as I started swimming from the age of 2 . But then ....I know it can be very tough.

Thank you again for your wishes and your prayers.
Wassalam
Dr Sheikh

20TH JANUARY 2007

QUESTIONS FROM:Zarith Sofia <sofia_estancia89@yahoo.com.my

Just a few question for u;

1.What will u do after u finish this astronaut's programme?
2.Besides being a doctor,model,are u a lecturer?
3.When will u get married with ur loved ones?2008?2009?

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

Dear Zarith ...

1. Im bonded with ANGKASA for 2 years till Dec 2008. Hoping to promote space education , venture into space medicine , continue my Orthopaedic Surgery and be a lecturer in UKM at the same time. My passion is still surgery.
2. Yes , I am a lecturer in UKM Bangi.
3. Plan to settle down once the contract is over. Insyaallah.

23RD JANUARY 2007

Questions from:farah <bitchark_505@yahoo.com

This question still puzzle in my head since the 1st gathering that I
went and you told us that u have to take art lesson....and it puzzles
me....why do you have to learn it?>>>and you told us that you still
gonna take pictures when you're up there right....and is it learning
art is just a skill that you need to know in case there's something
wrong while capturing those sights in space?>>

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

Dear Farah ,

The space programme is not just about science. We are trying to fuse science , arts and Islamic so that every group of people could participate and contribute.
Arts teaches you to bring out the soul in you so that you could express better let it be in poem , drawings , paintings , etc. So I am hoping to express my deepest feelings and share it with the entire nation in whatever form there is. Describing what you see in space would not be fulfilled in words ....sometimes it's much deeper than that. That is why people who are involved in arts are very artistic and  unique in expressing themselves. I too are very interested in arts and have been going to the many museums in Moscow which are very rich in history and culture. Hope that explains everything.

20TH JANUARY 2007

questions from:kakigemuk <kakigemuk@yahoo.com

Saya ingin bertanya..

1) Bahan-bahan kaji selidik yang akan dibawa untuk diuji
ke angkasa lepas berbentuk sains hidup iaitu bakteria dan kultur
penyakit leukemia. Bagaimana pula bahan kaji bagi bidang tulang
seperti osteoprosis, osteoblasts dan osteoclasts, adakah doktor akan
membawa tulang dalam bentuk serbuk?

2) Saya mendapat tahu Siberia adalah satu negeri pembuangan
penjenayah berat di Russia. Kalau disebut Siberia kepada
sesiapa di Russia, mereka gerun. Kenapa Siberia dipilih
untuk persediaan ketahanan musim sejuk 23hb. ini? Bukankah
Soyouz akan mendarat di mana ia berlepas, iaitu di Baikonour,
Kazakhstan?

3) Setelah melihat segala kelengkapan, kecanggihan dan kemajuan
teknologi angkasa lepas Russia, bilakah Malaysia sendiri akan
menghantar angkasawan ke angkasa lepas? Undian sms di tv
meramalkan Malaysia akan berjaya melakukannya antara tahun-
tahun 2016-2020.

ANSWERS FROM DR.SHEIKH

Dear kakigemuk ,

Im still working on my bone experiments link with UKM and it will be brought up in cells form and not serbuk as you mentioned.
Training in Siberia is just to get the feeling of extreme temperatures of minus 40-50 degrees. Of course in emergency case you do not know where you might land. That's why we have sea survival and jungle survival too.
It's going to take at least 2020 for us to launch our own manned rocket. So far only Russia , US , and China have send manned rocket to space. I suggest we start with education and awareness to the roots which are the schoolchildren and  university students before attempting our own manned space rocket. Once the public euphoria is there , we can start developing the space programme which I'm hoping to be involved