Space vision

In March of that year, Nasa launched a seven-day space shuttle Challenger mission, called STS 41B, in which two of the five astronauts performed untethered space walks for the first time in history. The space shuttle also carried two Get Away Special (GAS) cans loaded with 11 scientific experiments designed by university students.

To carry out the experiments in the space shuttle required a computer system that used as little electricity as possible for a whole week. That system, and its software, was designed by Dr Sawat Tantiphanwadi, then a graduate student at Utah State University. It was the first time that a Thai flag was flown into space.

``Space is only 100 kilometres away,'' Dr Sawat says. ``If we pass beyond this limit only for one second, we will earn the status of `astronauts','' he adds. Despite this definition, the thought of Thailand's producing and sending an astronaut into space remains a distant idea, let alone setting up a proper space education programme that prepares students toward that mission.

Dr Sawat, however, is determined to change this scenario. After having spent a total of 27 years living in the United States, which includes nearly 10 years at Orbital Sciences Corp building satellites, Dr Sawat returned to Thailand in 2001 to work at the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA).

Besides heading the Reverse Brain Drain (RBD) project, he has collaborated with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) in order to encourage space education in Thailand.

``Space science is similar to all basic sciences,'' he says. ``But with space science, we only have to look beyond the earth. It's like imagining that we are watching the earth from outer space. We see that besides the earth, there's the universe; although it seems empty, we may live there one day. There are also other planets that have a different environment from our earth,'' he adds.

Micro-gravity experiments

Since 2002, Jaxa has encouraged Japanese university students to submit their experiments for the parabolic flight contest. This year, in collaboration with Jaxa, a group of Thai university students will be able to conduct a scientific experiment under a micro-gravity condition for the first time. But instead of actually boarding a space shuttle and travel into space, the students will board a specially designed plane, in which micro-gravity is temporarily created using a parabolic flying route.

``Parabolic flight is similar to a giant roller coaster ride,'' Dr Sawat says. ``It flies upwards 20 seconds and then plunges 20 seconds. And it goes like this for a long distance,'' he adds. During the 20 seconds that the plane drops, micro-gravity conditions are temporarily created in the compartment, and the students can quickly conduct their experiments before the plane soars upwards again. ``In the United States, we nicknamed this type of flight pattern the `vomit comet' because it really makes you want to vomit,'' Dr Sawat says.

Although 20 seconds sound like a very short time, many scientific and technological experiments can actually be conducted. Lighting a candle and observing the shape of its flame, for example, is one experiment that has been successfully tried before. Unlike on earth, the candle's flame is perfectly round in the micro-gravity environment, Dr Sawat says.

Because of its relatively inexpensive cost - at US$100,000 (3.6 million baht) per person _ Dr Sawat says that conducting experiments in a parabolic flight is the first step of doing future research or experiments under micro-gravity conditions. In comparison, launching the space shuttle Columbia, for example, could cost up to US$100 million, with the payload of about US$10,000 per kilogramme.

Fortunately, Jaxa will cover the flight and experiment costs for Thai students. ``This project is only the beginning,'' Dr Sawat says. Once the students have become involved in the project, they will start to tackle science from a broader perspective. And the team that is selected to conduct the experiment on the parabolic flight will also be exposed to what their Japanese counterpart is doing and how far they have progressed in their space education programme.

``Space education teaches students to see the big picture. Instead of seeing only what happens in his own home, his province, or Thailand, the student will start to see it from the perspective of the whole world, other planets, and the sun,'' Dr Sawat says. ``When this happens, they will know how fragile and vulnerable our planet is,'' he adds.

Research proposals for Kibo

Besides the parabolic flight experiments for students, Jaxa also affords an opportunity for Thai researchers to submit research proposals for Japan's space programme, the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Kibo - which means `hope' in Japanese. JEM Kibo is Japan's contribution to the International Space Station (ISS) and is produced under the auspices of Jaxa. Kib? will be launched into space next year as a manned research facility for conducting various scientific experiments.

`` Kibo is a module that can be attached to or detached from the main space station,'' Dr Sawat says. ``It has five sub-modules that allow for various types of experiment and maneuver to be conducted by taking advantage of various space-specific conditions,'' he adds.

The main pressurised module, for example, allows astronauts to conduct experiments under the micro-gravity environment without having to wear a space suit; the external platform that allows for experiments that take advantage of the vacuum state or that need exposure to cosmic rays or dust; and the exposed station that can store instruments used in the external platform.

When conducted under this space-specific environment, Dr Sawat says, experiments on material sciences and pharmaceuticals hold a very high commercial potential.

Under micro-gravity conditions protein crystals, for example, grow bigger and more complete because the environment is free from gravity, thus no precipitation and heat induction. Similarly, micro-gravity conditions are beneficial in the production of alloys because two metals can be mixed in the air, and thus are free from contamination from the mould.

``Many experiments that we have conducted under the earth's environment may have put us at a dead end at one point or another. When this happens, it's only natural that we try to change the environment under which we conduct them,'' Dr Sawat says.

``The experiments with protein crystals will allow us to produce more effective medicines in the future. Or the experiments with materials may lead us to stronger and more durable raw materials,'' he adds.

Unfortunately, not many researchers share the same vision of the future with Dr Sawat. Since he made the announcement for the research proposals last April, not one Thai proposal has been sent to his office. Nevertheless, Dr Sawat has no plan to let this golden opportunity slip.

``Vietnam, on the other hand, has submitted tens of projects, not only those that came from universities, but also from various research institutions. So, I seized the opportunity by proposing to grow rice in space,'' he says. ``That's how I would like people to remember Thailand,'' he adds.

The future is the moon

But why would anyone want to grow rice in space? The moon is the answer. Although Nasa ended the US lunar exploration programme with its last manned mission to the moon in 1972 - the last time man stood on the moon - countries around the world are now geared up for a new long-term expedition.

This time, the mission is grander than the first, with a vision of the moon as a base station where astronauts would eventually live and work. ``By 2020, countries like Japan, China, the US, Russia, and those in Europe will be heading for the moon, and next time, they will stay for a long time,'' Dr Sawat says. ``At least Asian astronauts, particularly Chinese and Japanese, will definitely eat rice,'' he adds.

While growing rice is currently the only vision Thailand has for the moon, countries like China and the United States see it as part of a grander future. ``The moon could serve as a new and tremendous supplier of energy and resources for human beings,'' said chief scientist of China's moon exploration programme Ouyang Ziyuan in an exclusive interview with BBC news Online in 2002. ``Whoever first conquers the moon will benefit first,'' he added.

But only time will tell whether or not Thailand will be part of this future. At the current rate of progress, however, hope remains rather slim. Through continuing participation in various space research projects, Dr Sawat hopes that Thailand can be proud to have Thai nationals as astronauts _ those that actually go into space to conduct research, not as paid tourists.

``Travelling one hundred kilometres is like going from Bangkok to Bang Saen,'' he says. ``But instead of going to the east, we go in the direction above our heads. So, don't think of space as a far away place, because it's so close to us,'' he adds.

For more information on Dr Sawat's projects, visit www.tmc.nstda.or.th/jaxa or www.tmc.nstda.or.th .

Taking a shortcut

The Reverse Brain Drain project promises to bring a transfer of knowledge to local reseachers

Japanese experiment module Kibo

If a human brain can be equated to knowledge, then it may be transferred from one person to the next quite easily. In fact, the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) has arranged for many transfers of knowledge and technology through its Reverse Brain Drain (RBD) project since 1990.

More specifically, the project aims to identify and attract experienced Thai professionals who live overseas to participate in mission-oriented projects with local Thai researchers. This way, not only can knowledge and expertise from countries with more advanced technologies be transferred to local researchers, but a network of skilled researchers can also be developed out of the collaborations.

``To obtain up-to-date knowledge, we don't need all these [overseas experts] to be physically present in Thailand,'' says Dr Sawat Tantiphanwadi, RBD project director and deputy director of NSTDA's Technological Management Centre (TMC). ``Through collaboration, we can pick the experts' brains,'' he adds.

Seventeen years ago, in Washington DC, a group of Thai students living in the US gathered at the Royal Thai Embassy to discuss ways to make use of their professional expertise for the benefit of their mother country. With assistance from the Office of Science and Technology (OSTC) in Washington DC and the Damrung Lathapipat Foundation, the RBD board and office were established by a cabinet resolution in 1996.

Since that day, the RBD office has facilitated collaborations of approximately 20 research projects, most of which are related to science and technology. (See below). ``We must admit that we will not find the most advanced knowledge in science and technology in Thailand,'' Dr Sawat says. ``Rather, we can find it in most of the developed countries. Now, do we want that knowledge? If we do, do we want to learn step-by-step by ourselves or do we prefer to take the shortcut and learn from our own experts?''

Because the RBD project receives funding from the government, the collaborations usually are limited to academic institutions, state agencies, and research centres owned by the state. But the outcome of each sub-project, says Dr Sawat, should also benefit the development of the private sector as well.

In addition to this restriction, the project ensures participation of only those who really are experts in their fields, such as university professors or working professionals. So far, the project has attracted about 100 experts in the US who possess the level of skills, expertise and competence required.

The RBD project, however, has no intention of attracting these Thai professionals home permanently. ``We don't have enough resources to support their return,'' Dr Sawat says. ``The quality of jobs in Thailand is not good enough to support their level of expertise _ we don't have well supplied laboratories, nor can we pay them well,'' he adds.

Under the RBD project, researchers are given an initial funding of up to 500,000 baht in the planning and development stages, in addition to the project grant of up to five million baht. These incentives, however, are not what draw Thai experts to the project, says Dr Sawat. ``The most important attraction factor is their love for their mother country, because we only can give them a tiny sum in return,'' he says.

In the near future, Dr Sawat hopes to tap into the groups of Thai professionals who live in Canada, Japan, and Australia. But the future direction will be decided after a new set of board members is selected to replace the previous one, whose term expired last year.

EXAMPLES OF RBD RESEARCH PROJECTS

Kasetsart University

For more information on the Reverse Brain Drain project, visit the website www.tmc.nstda.or.th/rbd or call the Technological Management Centre at 02-564-7000 ext 1446-1449.