{"id":257635,"date":"2025-09-15T17:41:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T09:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/kristine-atienzas-first-leap-from-nutritionist-to-pioneer-in-the-race-to-space\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T17:41:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T09:41:23","slug":"kristine-atienzas-first-leap-from-nutritionist-to-pioneer-in-the-race-to-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/?p=257635","title":{"rendered":"The First Leap: Kristine Atienza\u2019s Journey From Nutrition To Spaceflight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kristine \u201cTin\u201d Atienza\u2019s story begins far from spaceports and astronauts. It starts in Bataan, where as a young girl, she would gaze at the night sky and marvel at its brilliance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was born and raised in Bataan where I also first fell in love with the night sky, and astronomy,\u201d she recalled. \u201cBack then the stars were very much visible as compared to now. I also got fascinated with astronomy because of a colored astronomy encyclopedia, where I learned about the planets, galaxies and constellations. Because of those things, and of course with the help of my parents, I started to dream of becoming an astronomer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Her plan was clear: study hard, enter the Physics program at the University of the Philippines, and pursue graduate studies in astronomy abroad. Yet life, as it often does, charted a different course.<\/p>\n

Tin was accepted into the BS Applied Physics program at UP Diliman\u2014her first choice and the dream she prayed for every night in high school. But her confidence was shaken when she faced her first academic setback.<\/p>\n

\u201cKind of dramatic and anticlimactic but the first trigger was I failed my first exam in UP, which was Math of all things, and I didn’t just fail. I got a 20%,\u201d she admitted. \u201cComing from the province, I was insecure to say the least. And all around me were the top of the top of the Philippines. So I decided to shift to a course that at first I didn\u2019t care about much (now I love being a nutritionist\/dietitian, and I am super proud of our field).\u201d<\/p>\n

That shift\u2014to Community Nutrition\u2014would unknowingly become the bridge between her childhood fascination with the cosmos and her pioneering path to space.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, space and astronomy has been part of my life since I can remember, and although my dreams of becoming an astronomer didn\u2019t come true, it didn\u2019t hinder me from sharing my love for the cosmos to everyone, especially to Filipinos,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

It was during her undergraduate years that a thought began to take shape: if astronauts are humans, then surely nutrition should matter in space. \u201cAt first during my undergrad years taking community nutrition, space nutrition was just a passing thought. I know if it actually existed, but it should exist because astronauts are humans too, and they also need food and nutrition even in space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remaining active in the astronomy community, Tin connected with peers across Southeast Asia and Europe, eventually collaborating with nutritionist-dietitians equally interested in the intersection of space and health. \u201cWe started to form a group, and later on started our own paths in space nutrition, which until now is not yet established, not as much as other fields. We collaborated in different studies which we conducted in different analog space missions across Europe. That was the reason why I got introduced to analog space missions, and later on, I decided to apply as a crew member myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking back, Tin admits she never imagined that her beginnings would lead her toward the possibility of being the first Filipino in space. \u201cNO, not at all. Growing up, I didn\u2019t really dream of becoming an astronaut. It was space nutrition, or nutrition that led me to become an analog astronaut. And with that title, I started to talk about analog space missions to school, and different venues and platforms. Doing those talks and presentations, I saw that people, especially the younger generation, are now hopeful that we too, the Philippines, can go to space someday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

That realization reshaped her mission. \u201cIt felt that it now became bigger than my own goals and aspirations. I felt like I have a responsibility to look for ways on how the Philippines can break the highest glass ceiling (literally), which is the Karman line. That\u2019s why I decided to get certified for spaceflight at NASTAR center, and now, I have this opportunity to finally fly and bring our flag beyond the Karman line through the SERA campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

From nutrition to the stars, Tin\u2019s path may not have been straight, but it is a story of resilience, rediscovery, and responsibility\u2014proof that the roads we don\u2019t expect can sometimes lead to the most extraordinary destinations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

She turned challenges into catalysts and now carries the Philippine flag toward space. #LetsAllWelcome #LetsAllWelcome_KristineAtienza<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":257636,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19603],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-257635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lets-all-welcome"],"zyndk8_nxtgen_metadata":{"nxtgen_comments":[{"867":"lodi space girl \ud83d\udc95\ud83c\udf19\r","868":"nakakaiyak naman \ud83d\ude2d sobrang proud tayo\r","869":"super idol tlga\r","870":"nutritions sa space \ud83d\udc69\u200d\ud83d\ude80\ud83e\udd66\r","871":"inspiring story super \ud83d\ude0d\r","872":"isa kang alamat ate kristine\r"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=257635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/257636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=257635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=257635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatic-fuchsia-armadillo.46-250-226-234.cpanel.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=257635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}