PH mangoes eyed as space food in future missions

MANILA – The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on Friday said it will explore ways to include the Philippine carabao mango in future space explorations.

"We’re taking the carabao mango and exploring how it can be part of the Filipino story in space," Gina Abrera of DOST- Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) and project leader of Philippine Space Mango Program, was quoted as saying in a news release.

Abrera said the project team wants "a product that can travel far, represent our identity, and remind future astronauts of home.”

According to the DOST, the Philippines aims to send its first astronaut to space by 2035. As such, Abrera said that future astronaut would need food that would remind that person about home.

Meanwhile, the DOST said the initiative is a partnership among the PNRI, University of the Philippines - Diliman, Philippine Space Agency and Batangas Mango High Value Growers Agriculture Cooperative.

Together, they will explore how the carabao mango can be developed into a food product suited for long-duration space missions.

The program also aims to explore food solutions for emergency and disaster-response situations, the DOST added. (PNA)