Filipina in Space? Yes, Please

When Kristine Jane Atienza announced she was aiming to be the first Filipina in space, social media lit up like a launch pad.

- BY NOREEN H. SAPALO

Some were thrilled, exclaiming that we'll finally have a Pinoy astronaut. Others rolled their eyes: "Space? We can't even fix EDSA."

This skepticism is fair. After all, why dream of rockets when jeepney drivers are protesting for fare hikes and hospitals are running out of beds? But maybe that's exactly why we should pay attention. In a country where we are always told to keep our feet on the ground, Atienza is asking us to look up.

Anthropologists talk about the "capacity to aspire" - a term coined by Arjun Appadurai, which is really just a fancy way of saying we learn how to dream by practicing it. Supporting Atienza's bid is not just about sending one person to space; it's about stretching the Filipino imagination. It is saying that our future does not have to be forever bound by traffic, corruption, or climate anxiety - that we, too, can take part in humanity's grand experiment beyond Earth.