The Philippine Space Agency joins the Kibo-ABC initiative

The PhilSA is the central government agency addressing all national issues and activities related to space S&T applications in the Philippines, under Republic Act No. 11363 or the Philippine Space Act. It mandates PhilSA to be the primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, and administrative entity of the Executive Branch of the government that will plan, develop, and promote the national space program in line with the Philippine Space Policy.

The Philippines, through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), utilized Kibo in 2016 to deploy Diwata-1, the country’s first scientific Earth observation microsatellite. This was followed by the deployments of the Maya series of cube satellites. 

On November 25, 2021, PhilSA officially joined the Kibo-ABC initiative and was welcomed by its members, marking the start of its active participation in its activities. The PhilSA is now the Philippines’ point of contact (POC) for Kibo-ABC.

PhilSA is keen to contribute to the Kibo utilization and major activities of the Kibo-ABC Initiative such as Space Seeds for Asian Future program, Asian Try Zero-G program, and Kibo Robot Programming Challenge program. This year, PhilSA will be participating in the Asian Herb in Space (AHiS) of Space Seeds for Asian Future Program, and the Asian Try Zero-G. Activities involving AHiS are planned as part of the PhilSA’s Space Education and Awareness Program, which aims to mainstream space science and technology in the basic education and strengthen research in interdisciplinary space science,  space exploration and space environment utilization. Participations in space missions, an opportunity provided by the Kibo-ABC initiative, are important avenues in bolstering the country’s STEM education. Kibo-ABC also introduces students in experimental design and applications of the scientific method in solving pressing problems. Furthermore, working on objects that come from space, or will be sent to space, has the potential of inspiring students to pursue a career in STEM, as well as introduce the value of STEM in improving the quality of life in the country. These support the PhilSA’s Key Development Areas for Space Science and Technology Applications (SSTA) development in the Philippines, specifically Space Research and Development, Space Education and Awareness, and International Cooperation.

The Kibo-ABC member countries look forward to scientific, technological, and educational cooperation with PhilSA through the utilization of the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo” on the International Space Station.