First Cordilleran working with astronauts eyes space-powered climate solutions for Kalinga

Tabuk City, Kalinga - Gwendolyn Pascua, who hails from Kalinga and Mt. Province and the first female Cordilleran to work alongside astronauts as a Ground Controller at Biotechnology Space Support Center (BIOTESC) in Switzerland, visited the Provincial Government of Kalinga on November 24, 2025 and proposed the use of space-based technologies in identifying climate-risk areas and guiding infrastructure planning across the province.

Pascua met with Acting Governor and Vice Governor Dave Q. Odiem, to whom she introduced the potential of space-based technologies to map climate-vulnerable zones and inform priority infrastructure development in the province.

“We have a company based in Switzerland so we have access to satellite data and we could use it. We really want to go grassroots and if ever, we could already start something within the communities. And it is better for me that I could communicate and connect with my community before,” Pascua said.

The Cordilleran space-tech likewise mentioned the Planetary Solutions for Earth (PS4E), a Swiss company co-founded by Pascua and Dr. Mickael Morin, addressing climate risks and vulnerability through planet-centered initiatives. Pascua added that if the proposal is granted, she hopes to involve local talents from Kalinga to support the project management.

“As a Swiss company, we also have the access coming from the European Space Agency in terms of the satellites that we’re using. So basically, we are partnering with the local government and if granted and possible, we would like to employ somebody from here that could help manage the projects,” said Pascua.

With potential to help the province, the Provincial Government looks forward to further talk with Pascua to advance initiatives benefiting Kalinga’s communities, ensuring that science serves local needs effectively and inclusively.

Who is Gwendolyn Pascus?

Before becoming the first female Cordilleran to work alongside astronauts as a Ground Controller at Biotechnology Space Support Center (BIOTESC) in Switzerland, Pascua was once a student of Tabuk City National High School and finished as salutatorian in 1999. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics majoring in Instrumentation and Condensed Matter Physics degree at the University of the Philippines-Diliman in 2005 and took up Master of Science in Physics in the same school.

Pascua’s educational attainment didn’t stop there as she was accepted for dual master degree Material Science Exploiting Large-scale Facilities in the Universite de Rennes I in France and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat in Muchen, Germany in 2008 and was later offered a PhD position in PSI by her supervisor.

Her attainments extended further and in doing so, she became the first-ever female Cordilleran to become an Operations Engineer Lead and Ground Controller of a prestigious space company in Europe.