Speaker
Description
In the last decades crewed space research was limited to the International Space Station (ISS) from where a fast return to Earth in case of severe health issues of the astronauts always is possible. This will not be the case anymore in the upcoming space missions to Moon and finally maybe to Mars. As a consequence, health care support mechanisms must be developed that are completely independent from Earth. Biofabrication technologies and specifically 3D bioprinting methods are seen as such solutions as they enable the opportunity for fabricating human tissues that can be utilised to treat injured or otherwise ill astronauts on-board the spacecraft or in extraterrestrial human settlements. Several international space agencies and research teams have started therefore to look into the possibilities to establish biofabrication technologies in space (1,2).
However, current research focus is the investigation of opportunities - but also limitations - of operating such systems like extrusion bioprinters under microgravity (µg) conditions. Respective studies also can be performed in parabolic flight experiments in which short µg phases can be realised. Another important aspect is the logistics of bioprinting experiments in space as crew time is very limited and astronauts not specifically trained for the multiple procedures. Especially preparation of bioinks might be complicated and impeded by the lack of equipment like sterile benches and centrifuges. We therefore have looked into opportunities to store pre-mixed bioinks or process them using frozen cell suspensions (3).
The lecture will provide an overview about first experiments that already have been performed during parabolic flights, at the ISS or using fully automated satellite-based systems. In addition, possible applications both in research and support of astronauts' health will be discussed.
References:
(1) Cubo Mateo N. et al., 2020, 10.1088/1758-5090/abb53a
(2) van Ombergen A. et al., 2023, 10.1002/adhm.202300443
(3) Windisch J. et al., 2023, 10.1002/adhm.202300436