[SIZE="4"]Japan astronaut to try flying carpet in space lab: official[/SIZE]
AFP wrote:
A Japanese astronaut going to space this month will try to fly on a carpet, use eyedrops in zero gravity and meet a series of other off-beat challenges, a space agency official said Thursday.
Koichi Wakata will perform 16 tasks chosen from 1,597 suggested by hundreds of people, from nursery school pupils to a 90-year-old man, said the official at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
. . . JAXA said it would release footage of the experiments to Japanese media.
. . . In another initiative, the Japanese space agency has invited companies to rent an astronaut by the hour in the ISS space lab to perform desired tasks, which could include advertisements or science experiments.
The hourly charge for an astronaut is 5.5 million yen (55,000 dollars) -- plus an extra fee to transport any required items into space of 3.3 million yen per kilogramme (1.5 million yen per pound). . . more
See also: Naoko to get a ride, 2010
