President Benigno Aquino III received a replica of Diwata-1, the Philippines’ very first microsatellite, during the courtesy call of officials of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) led by Secretary Mario Montejo at the President’s Hall of the Malacañan Palace on Monday, June 20.

Montejo, along with some engineers who designed and built Diwata-1, visited the President in Malacañang, more than one week before he steps down from office.

Aside from the replica, Montejo also presented a coffee table book titled “Diwata-1” to Aquino containing photos and articles of how the microsatellite was created.

The launch of Diwata-1 is considered as a milestone in the Aquino administration and in the country’s space technology.

Diwata-1 also known as PHL-Microsat-1 was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in March 23, 2016.

It was released from the Japanese Experiment Module nicknamed “Kibo” into outer space on April 27.

It is expected to be in orbit for around 20 months before it re-enters the atmosphere.

Equipped with four specialized cameras, Diwata-1 is expected to provide an average of 3,500 high-resolution images of the country that will be used for monitoring land and water resources and studying changing weather patterns, agriculture, fishery, forestry as well as disaster response and mitigation.

With the success of Diwata 1, the DOST is expected to launch the second microsatellite Diwata-2 in 2017. PND (jb)