JUST IN TIME for the mid-autumn Moon Festival, we turn our gaze to the Heavens and what do we see? Lots of little green yellow men, as in lots of Asian astronauts floating around the cosmos. We’ve always thought, given our particular slant, that the “race” in Space Race meant racial groups. Ever wonder who got to name the Milky Way? Our point exactly!

Well, there’s a new Space Race afoot, with China, Japan, and India poised to shoot for the moon and beyond. China put the world on notice in 2003, when it sent fighter pilot Yang Liwei into space in a Shenzhou-5 capsule. Not coincidentally, NASA immediately announced plans to set up a moon base and then fly to Mars. Who knows? If the planets align, humans may once again walk on the moon in 2020 and set foot on Mars for the first time in 2037 (where they will discover a Chinese restaurant already there).

Japan is over the moon as its first lunar probe—the Kaguya, named after a fairytale princess—successfully dropped into the moon’s orbit in early October. But look for China to launch its moon-bound spacecraft, the Chang’e-1, next week. The Chinese Government’s ultimate goal is to put a man on the moon within 15 years—and no doubt the Red Planet after that. India will have to play catch-up as it launches the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft in 2008.

Despite the obvious bragging rights that fuel all contests involving phallic objects, Space Race 2 is shaping up to be a relay race, with plenty of cooperation and co-financing by a number of nations. Even small nations can buy in—like Malaysia, which hitched a ride on a Russian Soyuz rocket for about a billion dollars.

Astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor made history last week as the first Malaysian in space. “It’s a small step for me, but a great leap for the Malaysian people,” said the 35-year-old doctor, now aboard the International Space Station. The good doctor is also a part-time model. Hot stuff meets right stuff!

Next up is South Korean Ko San, a 30-year-old computer scientist, who’s scheduled to fly to the space station next April.

Speaking of Koreans in space…

Korean-born actor John Cho of “Harold & Kumar” fame has been cast as Sulu in the new “Star Trek” feature, playing a role immortalized by Japanese-American actor George Takei. “Sulu’s in good hands,” Takei told Startrek.com. “John Cho is an exciting actor.” And while Cho may be a rising star, Takei is now a heavenly body! The International Astronomical Union’s Committee for Small Body Nomenclature recently named an asteroid after the 70-year-old actor and gay rights activist. Behold, the 7307 Takei. Warp speed!

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