{"id":21492,"date":"2026-09-27T22:59:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T14:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/?p=21492"},"modified":"2026-09-27T22:59:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T14:59:41","slug":"president-marcos-meets-filipino-analog-astronauts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/2026\/09\/27\/president-marcos-meets-filipino-analog-astronauts\/","title":{"rendered":"PRESIDENT MARCOS MEETS FILIPINO ANALOG ASTRONAUTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday met with four Filipino analog astronauts who have participated in space simulation missions and training programs worldwide.<\/strong><\/p>\n

During a courtesy call at Malaca\u00f1an Palace, President Marcos eagerly listened to the experiences and insights of Kristine Jane Atienza, a nutrition specialist from Bataan; Dr. Marvic Jon Alcantara, a medical specialist from Cavite; Florence Pauline Basubas, a space biologist from Cebu; and Dr. Mark Angelo Purio, a space engineer from Oriental Mindoro.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The President expressed support for their future endeavors and encouraged them to share their experiences to inspire more Filipino youth to pursue careers in space science and technology.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations. Keep it going. I am so glad that we have presence in all these space sciences. It has become so much easier now\u2026 much safer than it used to be,\u201d President Marcos said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Analog missions simulate some of the conditions astronauts may experience while living and working on the Moon, Mars or in space. These include isolation, communication delays, limited resources, and other physical, operational, and psychological challenges.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The four Filipino analog astronauts have taken part in missions and training programs in different countries.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Atienza participated in the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) program and received suborbital spaceflight certification from the National Aerospace Training and Research Center in Pennsylvania.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alcantara became the first Filipino medical doctor to serve as an analog astronaut and has participated in missions in Hawaii and Australia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Basubas served as executive and medical officer for the Monsaraz Mars Analog Mission in Portugal, while Purio became the first Filipino engineer analog astronaut through the LunAres Mission M4.26 in Poland. Purio was also involved in the development of the Philippines\u2019 Maya-2 cube satellite.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PLAN TO DEVELOP ANALOG MISSIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the courtesy call, Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) Acting Director General Gay Jane Perez also briefed President Marcos on plans to develop the country\u2019s analog missions and prepare Filipinos for future human spaceflight opportunities.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perez said PhilSA is tapping the experience of Filipino analog astronauts who trained abroad to help develop similar missions in the Philippines.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As part of the effort, PhilSA is conducting the Analog Habitat Waypoint (ANAHAW), a university-based program aimed at developing Filipino capabilities in space research and mission operations.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eleven participants are currently undergoing a 24-hour analog mission from September 25 to 26 at Batangas State University. Six members are the primary crew experiencing simulated conditions of living and working in a lunar habitat, and five members are part of mission control who are monitoring the mission and providing technical advice.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perez said PhilSA plans to expand the program through ANAHAW 2.0 next year, with several universities envisioned to simultaneously conduct analog missions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PhilSA is also planning a two-week professional all-Filipino analog mission in 2027, potentially at the LunAres Research Station in Pi\u0142a, Poland, or the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, United States.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perez said an all-Filipino crew would provide an opportunity to study how Filipinos work together under the isolation, confinement, and resource limitations experienced during space missions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be new observations that will be made. How will Filipinos in a confined environment survive? But we think there are values that will prevail \u2014 bayanihan \u2014 and this is something that the international community can also learn from us,\u201d Perez said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

FILIPINO ASTRONAUT PROGRAM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Perez described the analog missions as the country\u2019s \u201cpathway to human spaceflight.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

She said PhilSA is developing a three-year astronaut program that would include a nationwide search for participants, a two-week all-Filipino analog mission, and a rigorous and competitive selection process for astronaut candidates.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the same time, Filipino scientists will develop science experiments that could eventually be conducted in space.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The initiatives are part of the government\u2019s efforts to strengthen the Philippines\u2019 capabilities in space science and technology.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In June, President Marcos convened the Philippine Space Council to discuss initiatives on satellite development, space data utilization, and international cooperation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, during President Marcos\u2019 state visit to Japan in May, PhilSA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency signed a declaration identifying space exploration and human spaceflight among areas for possible cooperation. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday met with four Filipino analog astronauts who have participated in space simulation missions and training programs worldwide. During<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/filipino-astronauts.jpg",2034,1253,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/filipino-astronauts-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/filipino-astronauts-300x185.jpg",300,185,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/filipino-astronauts-768x473.jpg",640,394,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/filipino-astronauts-1024x631.jpg",640,394,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/filipino-astronauts-1536x946.jpg",1536,946,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/filipino-astronauts.jpg",2034,1253,false],"kreeti-slider-full":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/filipino-astronauts-1280x720.jpg",1280,720,true],"kreeti-featured":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/filipino-astronauts-1024x631.jpg",1024,631,true],"kreeti-medium":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/filipino-astronauts-720x530.jpg",720,530,true],"kreeti-medium-square":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/filipino-astronauts-350x350.jpg",350,350,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"National<\/a>","tag_info":"National","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21492"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21492"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21494,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21492\/revisions\/21494"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}