Location (during time of takeover)
School/Institution
| Undergrad | University of the Philippines Diliman Geology |
|---|---|
| Internship | National Taiwan University Astronomy/Astrophysics (chondritic meteorites) |
| Masters | University of Twente Geo-information Science and Earth Observation |
| Masters | Colorado School of Mines Space Resources |
Featured on October 5, 2025
This week we’re meeting a scientist who dared to reach for the stars. Meet Pinoy Scientist Ericka Rivera, a member of the Astromaterials Curation Team at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center and Master’s student in Space Resources at the Colorado School of Mines, USA.
Erika graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman with a Bachelor’s degree in Geology. She then took a summer internship at the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the National Taiwan University studying chondritic meteorites. She spent a year as a Geomatics Specialist for the Manila Observatory before moving to the Netherlands in 2014 for her Master’s in Geo-information Science and Earth Observation at the University of Twente. She returned to the Manila Observatory after completing her degree as a Researcher for their Geomatics for Environment and Development team.
Erika has recently started her Master’s in Space Resources at the Colorado School of Mines, USA. In 2022, she joined the Mars Science Laboratory and Mars2020 Science Teams at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a Student Mission Collaborator. While there, she conducted data analysis and geochemical experiments with a focus on clay materials. While undertaking her second Master’s degree, Erika is also a part of the Astromaterials Curation Team at the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science, NASA Johnson Space Center where she preserves, characterizes, and allocates asteroid samples.
Some fun facts about Erika:
- She applied to NASA’s astronaut program last year. She didn’t get in, but she sees rejection as just one small step toward even bigger journeys.
- She recently started participating as a human research test subject at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, helping study how people perform and respond in space-like conditions to support astronaut health and safety.
- She’s been an amateur astronomer and astrophotographer for 20 years, exploring and capturing the night sky through my telescopes.
