The Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) is calling on everyone to #JoinTheMission and participate in the Asian Try Zero-G (ATZG) 2023! 

Students, up to the postgraduate graduate level as an individual or team, enrolled in a Philippine institution, may submit a proposal for an experiment or exercise and join the competition. Selected entries will be performed in a zero-gravity environment by a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut in the Kibo module of the International Space Station (ISS). The demonstration of the space activities will be broadcasted live and transmitted to JAXA’s ground station at Tsukuba Space Center, Japan. Winning individuals or teams will also get a chance to visit the Tsukuba Space Centre, witness the live broadcast of the experiment, and meet JAXA astronauts.

Categories: 

Category A: Physics Experiments (proposal form)

• Simple physics experiments, that can be demonstrated to confirm physical phenomena.
• It can be performed using items already available on Kibo or using small items that can be newly launched into the ISS. Kindly refer to the guidelines for more details.
• Check out past proposals and experiments in the links below:
  • Previous proposals from the Philippines 
  • Previous proposals from other countries

Category B: Exercise in Space (proposal form)
On-board exercises for astronauts: 

• A unique body movement which cannot be done on the ground but can be done in space. 
• Body movement and postures which can be an exercise under microgravity, yet easily done on Earth. (e.g., Squatting can be easily done on Earth, but it may be difficult in space.) 
• Proposals not found in past experiments. Please see past experiments (in Japanese) in the links:
• Check out past proposals and experiments in the links below: 
  • Astronaut’s Wakata’s interesting space experiments 
  • Astronaut Furukawa tries in space! 

Guidelines, Proposal Forms, and Sample Proposals

1. Guidelines
2. Attachment-1 (Available onboard items) 
3. Attachment-2 Category A (Experiment proposal form)  
4. Attachment-2 Category B (Experiment proposal form)  
5. Attachment-3 Category A (Sample of experiment proposal)
6. Attachment-3 Category B (Sample of experiment proposal)

For more information and additional sample proposals, check out JAXA’s information page here.

Create your proposals using the forms and submit them through this link on or before 31 May 2023.

Last 2022 ATZG, the Philippines submitted five (5) entries to JAXA. The “Rotation of Dumbbell-shaped Objects in Space” by Mr. William Kevin L. Abran of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) was one of the experiments chosen and performed last 17 January 2023. 

About the Kibo-ABC program

The Kibo-ABC program or Asian Beneficial Collaboration through Kibo Utilization was established by the Space Frontier Working Group (SFWG) of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) to promote the utilization and share the value of the Japanese Experiment Module “Kibo,” enhance the capacity of participating organizations, and foster collaborative projects between Japan and Kibo-ABC member countries.

ATZG is one of the activities of the Kibo-ABC program that aims to expand the use of the Kibo module on the ISS by conducting selected experiments from the Asia Pacific region.

Through its Kibo-ABC member organizations, JAXA invites the youth to participate in this activity.

For questions and clarifications, please contact sesd@philsa.gov.ph with the subject ‘[Asian Try Zero G 2023]: Inquiry’.