It was back in the early 1970s when Ng tried to pick up an inlay with his surgical forceps to fill cavities, but dropped it on the floor. An idea flashed across when the apple, or the inlay in this case, dropped.

How nice it would be, he thought, to have surgical forceps - as flexible and gentle as the human fingers - to feel the object and adapt its grip according to the shapes of inlays.

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He brought the concept to have it custom-made by top engineers at Polytechnic University. The Holinser Forceps was developed for use by dentists with self-adaptive grip to hold inlays and insert them into cavities.

But Ng aimed higher.

"I wanted to test the gripping of my claws in extreme situations," he said.

Based on the self-adaptive gripping concept of the Holinser Forceps, Ng and scientists from the university developed a whole kit of Space Forceps System, consisting of 70 connectable components for use by astronauts.

The project is also supported by the first Chinese Nobel laureate, Yang Chen-ning, a physics professor who acted as a scientific adviser.

The versatile instrument was taken by the Russian Space Agency for use by astronauts in precision soldering in 1995 at the then Mir Space Station - mankind's first orbiting space station.

After that first mission, Ng saw an opportunity to take his forceps even further.

Having secured a seat with the European Space Agency, Ng told his engineer teammates they were going to develop multifunctional "space chopsticks" that not only drill, core and grind, but also grip rock samples on the surface of Mars - like a pair of chopsticks.

In 2003, the multifunctional Mars Rock Corer, weighing only 370 grams and consuming as low as two watts of energy, was developed and installed on the Beagle 2 Lander aboard the European Space Agency spacecraft.

Although the fate of their high-tech chopsticks is still unknown, Ng has already secured negotiations with the Russian Space Agency on the Phobos- Grunt mission to Phobos, a moon of Mars. The mission is set to launch in 2009.

"The soil on Phobos has never been touched, and taking samples from this pristine surface [may] unlock the secret to extraterrestrial life," Ng said.

After decades of experience with international space missions, Ng said that, before he retires, he hopes to contribute to mainland space missions, such as working on the Chang'e lunar project with the Polytechnic University team.

The Chang'e Number Two, a mission to collect samples and conduct in situ analyses on the moon, is set to be launched in 2011.

As a break from exploring mysteries in outer space, Ng in recent years started testing the grip of his forceps in other dimensions.

Last year, he and Yung Kai-leung, a Polytechnic University professor, had a chance to work with Ifremer, an oceanographic, fisheries and environmental research agency of the French government, to design an "end- effector," a gripper, for the unmanned submarine Victor 6000's robotic arm.

The titanium gripper they developed could perform passive self-adaptive motion to retrieve objects in archeological sites as deep as 5,487 meters underwater.

They named it le coeur dune femme (the heart of a woman) as they knew and hoped it could grip objects as elusive and unfathomable as a woman's heart.

Meanwhile, Ng cold-called on Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, to present his idea of sending a small robotic insect on a tether with a pinhole camera to explore the hidden shafts in the Great Pyramid of Giza.

He said the micro-gripper, drills and corer developed for the Mir Space Station and Beagle 2 could help retrieve samples from secret chambers.

Ng said it may help unlock the secret about the Pharaoh Cheops, who built the Great Pyramid.

Ng's robotic insect is still being tested, and the results will be announced early next year.

After 30 years, Ng's forceps concept has traveled an amazing journey from the surgery room to outer space, to deep-water archeological sites and back in time with the Egyptians in Giza.

But, of course, his achievements came after numerous rejections.

He had to cold-call on celebrated scientists and heavyweights in the government agencies to give him and his team a seat on the missions, and when the door slammed on his face, he had to knock again.

"I'm a nobody [as a] dentist," Ng always reminded others.

Persistence over the past three decades, he added, is the key.

And today, he insisted, after creating one of the most sophisticated space instruments: "It's not about science. It's about following your dreams."

From his surgical chair in his Causeway Bay clinic, he followed his passion of testing his forceps for the past three decades, taking 300 trips around the world while his inventions have or will be taken to outer space seven times, to the deep ocean, and back in time with the pyramids.

"I'm tired," the dentist said, pointing to the wrinkles on his forehead. "People said these refer to the number of space missions I have.

"Life is an audition. Once you have followed your dreams, you're done with this life, and you might be a crab on Mars in your next life."

Although Ng's claws can grip almost anything, he does not clinch onto things "because you cannot bring money or fame to heaven."

He added he will retire from space missions to a simple life.

"Well, unless China invites me and my Polytechnic University team to space."