This, as the country aims to send its first astronaut to space within the next decade.
According to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), thr Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) and its partners are now exploring the carabao mango, which is comsidered the Philippines’ national fruit, as a possible food product for future space missions.
Through the Philippine Space Mango Program, they are looking on whether it can be developed into a food product suited for long-duration space missions and other challenging environments.
“We’re taking the Carabao mango and exploring how it can be part of the Filipino story in space,” said Gina Abrera of DOST-PNRI, who serves as the project leader.
In this initiative, the DOST-PNRI is working with the University of the Philippines Diliman for food science expertise, the Philippine Space Agency for alignment with the national space roadmap, and the Batangas Mango High Value Growers Agriculture Cooperative (BAMAHGACO) as mango farmer-partners.
“We want a product that can travel far, represent our identity, and remind future astronauts of home,” added Abrera, who also shared that the Philippines aims to send its first astronaut to space.
“We’re not just thinking about nutrition. We’re thinking about identity, comfort, and home,” she furthered.
The DOST noted that the program is going to be one of the featured DOST initiatives at the 2026 National Science, Technology, and Innovation Week (NSTW) that will happen in General Santos City in November 2026.
Aside from being space food, the program also aims to support broader efforts to explore food solutions for emergency and disaster-response situations.
It also aims to strengthen the Philippine dried mango industry and its competitiveness in international markets.
Meanwhile, over the past year, the Philippines has exported batches of fresh carabao mangoes to Italy and Canada, which were described a “breakthrough” by the Department of Agriculture for one of the most iconic products of the country.
