(Photo courtesy of Bongbong Marcos Facebook)
MANILA – The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) conducted a 24-hour analog mission at Batangas State University from Sept. 25 to 26 as part of efforts to build Filipino expertise in human spaceflight research and mission operations.
The Analog Habitat Waypoint, or ANAHAW, involved 11 participants. Six served as the primary crew living and working under simulated lunar habitat conditions, while five others formed the mission control team that monitored operations and provided technical support.
The mission followed a courtesy call at Malacañang by PhilSA officials and four Filipino analog astronauts: Kristine Jane Atienza, Marvic Jon Alcantara, Florence Pauline Basubas and Mark Angelo Purio.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the initiative reflects the country’s growing involvement in space research and expressed hope that a Filipino would eventually travel to space.
The four analog astronauts have undergone missions and training abroad. Atienza joined the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation program, Alcantara participated in missions in Hawaii and Australia, Basubas served in a Mars analog mission in Portugal, while Purio joined the LunAres Mission in Poland and contributed to the development of the Maya-2 cube satellite.
PhilSA is also preparing ANAHAW 2.0, which would expand analog missions to several universities in 2027.
The agency is considering a two-week all-Filipino analog mission next year, possibly at the LunAres Research Station in Poland or the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah.
PhilSA Acting Director General Gay Jane Perez said an all-Filipino crew could help researchers study how Filipinos respond to isolation, confinement and limited resources during simulated space missions.
PhilSA is also developing a three-year astronaut program that would include a nationwide search, analog mission training and a competitive selection process for astronaut candidates.
Under the proposed timeline, the agency aims to have an astronaut candidate and a high-impact scientific experiment ready for possible launch by the end of 2029.
