space program

The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on Friday, June 11, in a virtual signing ceremony held simultaneously in Manila and Tokyo.

Dubbed the Multispectral Unit for Land Assessment, or MULA, the commercial-grade satellite will weigh 130 kilograms — the country’s biggest to date.

Maya-2, the Philippines’ second cube satellite, was successfully released into orbit by the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, March 14, along with Paraguay’s GuaraniSat-1 and Japan's Tsuru.

Of the 60 bills and resolutions referred to the House Committee on Science and Technology in the 18th Congress, only three congratulatory resolutions were adopted. All the 53 bills remain pending at committee level, according to Bagong Henerasyon representative Bernadette Herrera.

The Philippine space program is expected to drastically improve over the next few years with the approval of a Senate measure on third and final reading seeking to establish the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA).

Department of Science and Technology (DOST) secretary Fortunato de la Pena said he hopes Congress would pass more science-related bills in 2018, particularly those that deal with space development.