IN one of her widely viewed TikTok videos, Florence Pauli Basubas introduces herself with a question: Do you believe an island girl from the Philippines can become an astronaut? She follows it with a candid answer: I am not yet an astronaut. No one from the Philippines has become one yet. So I hope to be the first.
Basubas, 27, is a Cebu-born biologist who has taken part in a zero-gravity parabolic flight and undergone space-related training through programs linked to NASA. She serves as the country’s point of contact for the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), a global network of young space professionals, and has worked alongside institutions such as the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) in advancing space education initiatives. She is the second Filipina who became an analog astronaut.
The first one is Kristine Jane Atienza, a public health nutritionist from Bataan who is actively pursuing a place in space. In November 2023, Atienza became the first Filipino analog astronaut by taking part in the HI-SEAS mission at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, a simulated Mars mission. She has since become the first Filipino certified for commercial suborbital spaceflight after completing rigorous training at the National AeroSpace Training and Research Center. She is now campaigning for a seat on a Blue Origin New Shepard mission that could carry the Philippine flag beyond the Kármán line for the very first time.
Safely in Earth gravity
However, Filipinas are already making their mark in the space industry.
The Manila Times featured earlier this month Angelita Castro-Kelly, who became the first ever female Mission Operations Manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She supervised early developmental missions for the Earth Observing System program and earned the Goddard Exceptional Service Medal. That was in 1997.
Filipina American Josephine Santiago-Bond, a systems engineer, is the creator and chief of the Advanced Engineering Development Branch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Raised in the Philippines, she studied at Philippine Science High School and the University of the Philippines before her path led her to NASA, where she has worked for over seventeen years on space shuttle ground systems and lunar exploration projects. She has said it is very important for women to lift each other up. It is important for women to break new ground and pave the way.
And even closer to home is PhilSA Deputy Director General Gay Jane Perez. Though waiting for her confirmation as director general, it is clear that Perez, whose career has been deeply rooted in satellite science, remote sensing, and data-driven governance, was already instrumental in advancing the country’s Earth observation capabilities. She led the Diwata 1 and 2 programs. She also advanced the Space Technology and Applications Mastery, Innovation and Advancement program. This initiative expanded the country’s capabilities in translating satellite data into actionable insights for disaster risk reduction, environmental monitoring, and national development planning. Her leadership now signals continuity in building a science-led space program, one that is grounded not in aspiration alone but in operational capability and institutional maturity.
Running parallel to this institutional leadership is the intellectual and cultural force of Reinabelle Reyes, whose influence extends far beyond formal titles. A theoretical physicist by training, Reyes has become one of the most recognizable voices in Philippine science, bridging the gap between complex astrophysical concepts and public understanding. Her work in academia and science communication has helped cultivate a new generation of Filipinos who see space not as an abstract frontier but as an accessible field of study and national relevance. In many respects, she represents the outward-facing dimension of the country’s space ambitions, expanding curiosity, deepening scientific literacy, and asserting that Filipino talent belongs in the global scientific conversation.
