CRS-31 Payloads

Auxilium Biotechnologies | Principal Investigator: Yakov Koffler, Ph.D.

The Biomanufacturing in Space of Drug-Delivery Medical Devices investigation aims to manufacture a medical device with drug delivery capabilities to enable loading different drugs into the device to enhance the device’s capability (e.g., loading drugs that can enhance vascularization to improve blood flow into the device). The devices are 3D-printed, and part of the project involves the adaptation of the 3D printer to operate in microgravity. This is the first time a fast high-resolution 3D-bioprinter is deployed to the ISS. 

Why microgravity? 

It is hypothesized that manufacturing this device in microgravity conditions aboard the International Space Station (ISS) can improve the overall performance of the device.

The platform allows for single-micron resolution with a printing rate on the scale of minutes (rather than hours/days) to fabricate full-scale medical devices. The internal printing components and cartridge have been redesigned by Space Tango to enable automated printing in microgravity conditions while maintaining adequate containment of the bioink to ensure safe operations in space. 

This experiment could create a medical device that provides a viable alternative, avoiding the risks of surgery and facilitating nerve regeneration and recovery of function.

Magnitude.io | Principal Investigator: Ted Tagami

ExoLab-11 Substrate Optimization for Autonomous Plant Development in Microgravity  aims to investigate the effects of agarose substrate concentrations in the microgravity environment on the growth and development of the leguminous plant barrel medic (Medicago truncatula) to provide optimal oxygenation of the root zone in an autonomous growing system. Seed germination occurs in microgravity. The following variables are monitored by CubeLab science interface systems throughout the duration of the experiment:  plant growth (through imaging), atmospheric gas levels (NH3, N02, O2, CO2), lux (measurement of illuminance), temperature, and relative humidity. Cold stowage is used for transportation to and from the International Space Station (ISS). 

Ground-based experiments that parallel the space experiments are conducted at schools, science centers, libraries, and museums. Citizen scientists also participate in operational updates and share their experiences via live video broadcasts. 

Why microgravity? 

Legumes such as Medicago truncatula are nitrogen fixers and have applications in fertilizing growth substrates on future space missions. Researchers plan to measure genetic response to microgravity in the plants. The measurement of plant response to microgravity stress on a gene expression level is also studied and may result in the development of hardier hybrids for Earth, and/or pathways for development off-world. Insight into how this model plant responds to various stressors and growth conditions could support improvements in crop production on Earth.

Powerhouse: Reproductive Rate of Algae in Microgravity vs on Earth

Magnitude.io | Principal Investigator: Ted Tagami

Reproductive Rate of Algae in Microgravity vs on Earth (Photosynthetic efficiency of C. vulgaris in microgravity) examines algae growth and photosynthesis in microgravity using Chlorella vulgaris and Nannochloropsis australis species. Algae could be grown in cultivation systems known as photobioreactors as part of bioregenerative life support systems on future exploration space missions. Algae cultivation also has various applications on Earth, including for carbon sequestration, water purification, and as food. Four algae vials are flown with three vials of C. vulgaris for statistical reliability and reproducibility along with one vial of N. australis for open interest.

The Powerhouse CubeLab includes environmental sensors (temperature, humidity, lux) along with temporal imaging of each vial hourly and will use a fluorometer modified for spaceflight to measure photosynthetic efficiency.

Why microgravity? 

Photobioreactors allow cultivation of photosynthetic organisms such as algae using artificial light. This method could be used to grow algae for use in bioregenerative life support systems in space, enabling longer-duration exploration missions and human habitation beyond Earth.This investigation could also lead to improved cultivation of algae. Potential uses of algae on  Earth include carbon sequestration, water purification, food, and bioremediation (removing contaminants from air, water, and soil).

University of California San Diego (UCSD) | Principal Investigators: Alysson Muotri, M.D., Erik Viirre, MD, Ph.D.

The Effect of Microgravity on Human Brain Organoids (Space Tango-Human Brain Organoids) will study human brain organoids in space where the physical force of gravity is not present, allowing for a more detailed study of the survival, health, and genetics not possible on Earth. Organoids are small, three-dimensional stem cell-derived living masses of cells. Scientists use human organoids to model a specific organ’s biological functions as its cells interact with their environment and mature. Brain organoids may be used for a variety of studies including understanding the effects of disease, aging, and drug interactions in the brain. The results of Space Tango-Human Brain Organoids are expected to advance organoid technology, enabling a wide variety of new experiments using organoids in microgravity as a test platform for stress on the brain.

This investigation is also known as BOARDS – Brain Organoids Advanced Research and Development in Space – and is the fourth flight in a series of investigations for UCSD.

Why Microgravity?

The results of this study demonstrate how exposure to microgravity changes the survival, metabolism, and neuronal features of brain cells. In addition, understanding how the brain responds and adapts to the stresses of space including the absence of gravity is essential for any crewed space mission. This is fundamental to protecting human health

Sachi BioWorks | Pricinipal Investigator: Prashant Nagpal, Ph.D.

The Rapid, Low-Cost Drug Discovery in Space investigation seeks to provide evidence that microgravity and radiation in low Earth orbit (LEO) can speed up aging and neurodegeneration, making drug discovery faster, cheaper, and more efficient. It will evaluate whether Sachi BioWorks’s lead molecules can prevent accelerated aging, neurodegeneration, and DNA damage. It will also gather early data to see if treatments tested in space might have a higher success rate in human clinical trials than those identified through animal testing or early drug discovery.

This investigation is contained inside a Space Tango 9U CubeLab that is contained within Space Tango’s Powered Ascent Utility Locker (PAUL). The PAUL provides power to the CubeLab during launch and return. 

Why Microgravity?

While space is nominally considered a “harsh” environment for sustaining life due to its atmosphere, microgravity, and exposure to intense galactic cosmic rays, it offers unique opportunities for developing and screening therapeutic modalities that can immensely benefit therapeutic development activities for terrestrial applications. Human organoids are 3D in vitro models that exquisitely mimic the complexity of our tissues and organs and provide a practical alternative to whole-organism studies in humans. They can be used to study various pathophysiological phenomena on Earth for deep space manned missions and develop personalized medicine. 

Microgravity has been shown to induce stem cell cellular differentiation and complex organoid formation at a pace that cannot be achieved under normal gravitational conditions. This knowledge can be translated to high-throughput drug screening, cancer research, and stem cell research, with benefits on Earth. 

University of Texas at El Paso and Oregon State University | Principal Investigator: Binata Joddar, Ph.D. and Munmum Chattopadhyay

Studying the Effects of Microgravity on Cardiac Organoid Culture will understand the link between microgravity and cardiac dysfunction and how microgravity environment at the International Space Station (ISS) affects the function of the human heart, using cell-based research model. Specifically, the team is the first to examine the role and significance of bioprinting of cardiac tissue and will further their research in designing a 3D cell model system under a microgravity environment aboard the ISS, which is known to induce atrophy for studying the subsequent effects on cardiac tissue units. To understand this impact, 3D bioprinted hearts and (cardiac organoids) and 2D heterocellular cardiac cell clusters will be sent to the ISS in a Space Tango CubeLab and will be exposed to microgravity for an extended period.

Why Microgravity?

Cardiac atrophy is a documented side effect of microgravity exposure when in space. This condition is a reduction in tissue mass of the heart which has detrimental effects on cardiac health. Numerous alterations, including global or epigenetic changes in the expression of certain genes and modifications to the structure and function of tissues, are brought about by microgravity in both individual cells and organisms. The proposed research aims to increase fundamental knowledge of cardiac cell and tissue functions in pathological conditions that are known to cause cardiac atrophy on earth, as well as to understand how actual microgravity in space, aboard the ISS, impacts cardiac physiology.  To understand how microgravity affects cardiac physiology in outer space the morphology, viability, and variation in genetic expression of 3D cardiac organoids in both microgravity and earth’s gravity will be studied, determining the changes that may affect the development of cardiac atrophy

The results will assist the scientific community researching this ailment understand the disease pathologies that cause cardiac atrophy globally. Additionally, this project will develop both fields for terrestrial benefit by using research methods at the interface of engineering and biomedical sciences in microgravity.