The Thai student team, Galactic4, was named the 3rd place winner at the 4th Kibo Robot Programming Challenge. This competition, which took place at the Tsukuba Space Center on 21 October 2023, featured participation from ten teams representing countries in the Asia Pacific region.
The Kibo Robot Programming Challenge is organized by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Competing teams are to solve problems by programming the free-flying robot, Astrobee, in the International Space Station (ISS).
This year's competition drew ten teams from diverse countries, namely, Australia, Bangladesh, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Thailand. The Thai team was placed third, following the teams from Taiwan (first place) and Singapore (second place). The team consists of four members: Natthawin Yamprasert, Dechatorn Dasri, Kasidit Sanrak and Chiwanon Chulikorn, all second-year students at the Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT), Thammasat University.
The Thai student team also had an opportunity to tour the Tsukuba Space Center, share invaluable experiences with new friends from various countries, and meet Dr. Koichi Wakata, a Japanese astronaut with a wealth of experience working in the ISS. Galactic4 members expressed their gratitude to NSTDA and JAXA for organizing this important program, and to the sponsors, including 168 Lucky Trade Company Limited, Stars Microelectronics (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Space Inventor (Thailand) Company Limited and MappointAsia (Thailand) Company Limited, for financing their trip to Japan.