All-Filipino crew completes PhilSA's first-ever analog mission - GMA Network

An all-Filipino crew has successfully completed the Philippine Space Agency’s (PhilSA) first-ever analog mission.

PhilSA’s Analog Habitat Waypoint (ANAHAW) mission was conducted in partnership with Batangas State University.

Analog missions are an important part of preparing for spaceflight and other complex missions, as they allow researchers and crew members to test systems, simulate challenging conditions, and refine procedures, according to PhilSA.

“Over time, we hope to build the Philippines into a regional hub for analog missions, a place where people can come together to train, conduct research, and cultivate the knowledge and skills needed for human spaceflight. What begins here as a scientific experiment can grow into something larger: a community, a national capability, and new opportunities for the Philippine space sector,” PhilSA Acting Director General Gay Jane Perez said in a statement.

Held at the Batangas State University Alangilan Campus, the mission lasted 24 hours and simulated conditions that astronauts could encounter during actual space missions, including isolation, limited resources, and communication delays.

During the mission, the crew conducted scientific experiments and technical demonstrations on human-rover collaboration, crew welfare mentoring system, crew dynamics during an emergency, surface microbial sampling, and ground-based germination screening of Philippine food crops, PhilSA said.

The ANAHAW mission had six crew members: Mission Commander Suguru Vaughn Hernandez, Flight Engineer Nathaniel Macato, Mission Scientists Bianca Angeline Alcantara and Yzhae Marrione Villaruel, Communications Officer Jeremaine Ko, and Health and Nutrition Specialist Mary Audrey Amorao.

They were supported by the Mission Control Center team, including Flight Director Leemar Bonite, Capsule Communicator Cindy Lou Macahilos, and Science Technical Officers Angelo Manigo, Catherine Raisa Mandigma, and Erica Mae Santos.

All participants had completed a six-part learning series on analog missions before taking part in ANAHAW. Kristine Atienza, the Philippines’ first analog astronaut, also provided technical inputs during the preparations for the mission.

"Our Filipino analog astronauts are already testing here on Earth what it takes to live and work beyond it. I look forward to the day when a Filipino takes that science all the way to space,” said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., after he met with Filipino analog astronauts and PhilSA on September 24 to discuss the country's initiatives on analog missions, human spaceflight preparations, and efforts to develop Filipino capabilities for future space exploration. — VBL, GMA News