DR. Gerry Bagtasa of the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Science -Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (UPD-CS IESM) took flight with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Feb. 11, 2024, as part of an air pollution measurement campaign called ASIA-AQ (Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality).

NASA817, more specifically the NASA DC-8 plane, is an airborne science laboratory based in NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California. It is flown to other parts of the world to gather data to support the research and experiments undertaken by the global scientific community.