The Philippine Space Agency (PhiSA) on Monday, May 29, invited the public to participate in Asian Try Zero-G (ATZG) 2023.
"Rotation of 'Dumbbell-shaped' Objects in Space," an entry to Category 2: For individual or group participants 27 years old and younger. (Photo credit to PhilSA)
The competition will be open to students up to the postgraduate level, and participants may join as an individual or as a team.
As for the selected entries, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut will perform their masterpiece in a zero-gravity environment in the Kibo module of the International Space Station (ISS).
For the layout of the competition, there will be two categories: the Physics Experiments and the Exercise in Space.
In Category A (Physics Experiments), participants may submit simple physics demonstration experiments to prove physical phenomena.
While for Category B (Exercise in Space) for on-board exercises for astronauts, in this class, participants are required to submit some unique body movement that can only be done in space (zero gravity) and impossible to do on the ground (Earth's gravity), and it should be an original proposal that has not been in the past competition.
The deadline for submission in on May 31, 2023.
Here are some of the entries submitted by Filipino participants in the last 2022 ATZG: "Timmy in Zero Gravity" by Zyann Rubi D. Omadlo and Ian Jed L. Sabiniano from the Philippine Science High School in Cordillera Administrative Region Campus; "Effect of Varying Mass Distribution" (in Suzanne Glider paper Airplane under Microgravity) by Hershey D. Peña from St. Cecilia's College - Cebu Inc.; "Rotation of 'Dumbbell-shaped’ Object in Space" by William Kevin L. Abran from the University of the Philippines - Los Baños; "Uniform Circular Motion in Zero Gravity" by Joven Galliguez of the University of the Philippines Los Baños; and the "Simple Harmonic Motion in Earth's Gravity and Microgravity" submitted by Vher Angelo D. Cunanan from Emilio Aguinaldo College Cavite.
Winning applicants or teams will have the chance to meet JAXA astronauts and visit the Tsukuba Space Centre to watch the live broadcast of the experiment. (Sonny Daanoy)