The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) has completed its first Analog Habitat Waypoint (ANAHAW) mission, putting a six-member Filipino crew through a 24-hour simulated space mission at Batangas State University on Sept. 26, 2026.
Held at BatStateU – The National Engineering University’s Alangilan Campus, the exercise used a simulated lunar habitat to recreate selected challenges of spaceflight, including isolation, limited resources, communication delays and operational constraints.
PhilSA aims to use the program to build the country’s capacity to design, conduct and evaluate university-based analog missions, helping develop local expertise in human spaceflight support systems.
Crew tests rover collaboration, emergency response and crop experiments
The six-member crew included 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.
During the simulation, the crew carried out experiments and technical demonstrations involving human-rover collaboration, a crew welfare mentoring system, crew dynamics during an emergency, surface microbial sampling, and ground-based germination screening of Philippine food crops.
BatStateU’s rover was also used to explore potential applications in emergency response, communications and scientific operations.
Analog missions recreate selected aspects of spaceflight and off-world habitats on Earth. Researchers use these exercises to test equipment and procedures, study crew dynamics, and assess how people and systems perform under conditions similar to those encountered during space missions.
Mission Control support came from Flight Director Leemar Bonite, Capsule Communicator Cindy Lou Macahilos, and Science Technical Officers Angelo Manigo, Catherine Raisa Mandigma and Erica Mae Santos.
PhilSA builds university-based analog mission expertise
Before the 24-hour simulation, participants completed a six-part learning series covering analog mission concepts and operations. The program concluded with an assessment and a group pitch focused on technical learning and teamwork.
Kristine Jane Atienza, whom PhilSA identifies as the Philippines’ first analog astronaut, provided technical input, helped develop the mission concept, led training sessions and mentored the crew.
PhilSA said the exercise generated insights into experimentation, mission operations and habitat development that can inform future missions and help establish a framework for university-led analog programs.
The agency plans to replicate the program at more Philippine universities in succeeding years, encouraging academic institutions to contribute their expertise, knowledge and resources to national space science and technology initiatives.
ANAHAW forms part of the Philippines’ human spaceflight plans
PhilSA describes analog missions as one step in a broader pathway toward Filipino human spaceflight capability, alongside space science experiments, astronaut selection and eventual training for actual spaceflight.
Acting Director General Gay Jane Perez said the agency hopes to develop the Philippines into a regional hub for analog missions, with the work helping establish a community, strengthen national capabilities and create opportunities for the local space sector.
The mission followed a Sept. 24 meeting at Malacañang Palace between President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Filipino analog astronauts and PhilSA representatives. Discussions covered analog missions, preparations for human spaceflight and future space exploration capabilities.
Marcos said Filipino analog astronauts were already testing on Earth what it takes to live and work beyond it, expressing hope that a Filipino would eventually take that research into space.
PhilSA also lists Atienza, Dr. Marvic Jon Alcantara, Florence Pauline Basubas and Dr. Mark Angelo Purio as Filipino analog astronauts who have participated in international programs, including Hi-SEAS, LunAres in Poland, the Monsaraz Mars Analog Mission in Portugal and ADAMA in Australia.
