Yes!!!
You heard it right. A Filipino is set to
conquer the space come 2015. 22-year
old crossfit trainer Chino Roque who is also a graduate from De La Salle
University with a degree in Psychology has made history as the
first ever Filipino to make an expedition to space.
According to a recent article made by Francis T. Wakefield (2013), Roque was personally chosen by the
judging committee chairman of the AASA Space Camp, Mr. Buzz Aldrin as
one of the 24 astronaut winners of the
recently held AXE Apollo Space Academy (AASA) Space Camp in the awarding
ceremonies held at the Rocket Garden of the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando,
Florida, USA.
It was indeed a definitive moment for Roque who bested out
fellow Filipino hopefuls, Evan Ray Datuin and Ramil Santos in the concluded
five days of intensive training to rightfully select the individuals partaking
in this once of a lifetime journey. Although primarily, Roque was not one of
the original 3 individuals to be sent to the AASA as he replaced then Pinoy hopeful, Air Force Lieutenant Mario Mendoza Jr.
Mr. Mendoza left the competition in order to serve his military duties paving
the way for Roque to join the competition. If it wasn’t a coincidence that
transpired with the changes that happened then I would say that it is destiny
that eventually gave Roque the ticket to explore the world outside Earth.
With everything that has happened in our country, this victory
of our Fellow kababayan in a way serves as an inspiration to each and every Filipino
citizen. We as a race may be devastated by countless typhoons and innumerable political
issues but at the end of the day, we could certainly conquer it, even space!
References:
[1] Wakefield, F. (2013). First Filipino Astronaut named. In Manila Bulletin. Retrieved on December 6, 2013 from http://www.mb.com.ph/first-filipino-astronaut-named/
[2] Image courtesy of Google Images
Categories: