NASA astronauts have started growing human cells aboard the International Space Station to help understand the production of human tissue in low gravity.
250 test tubes containing adult human stem cells were sent aboard the SpaceX CRS-20 resupply mission that arrived at the ISS this week.
Scientists say that due to the weightlessness on board the ISS, newly formed cells will naturally ‘organise themselves’ into three-dimensional tissues.
It is hoped that the stem cells in test tubes will eventually grow into bone, cartilage and other organs during a month-long stay in space.
Part of the 250 test tubes carrying human stem cells, ready for differentiation into organ-like tissue structures on board the International Space Station
‘We are using weightlessness as a tool,’ said Dr Cora Thiel, researcher at the Department of Anatomy at the University of Zurich, which worked with aerospace comapny Airbus for the project.
The experiment is taking place in a ‘mini laboratory’ – a CubeLab module from company Space Tango – aboard the ISS as it orbits 250 miles from Earth, before possibly being up-scaled up to a larger facility.
The small module consists of a closed and sterile system, in which the stem cells can proliferate and differentiate at a constant temperature.
Space Tango CubeLab on board the International Space Station ISS – a mobile mini laboratory in which the stem cell experiment is taking place
The lack of gravity on the ISS should encourage the growth of 3D tissue, as opposed to the ‘monolayer’ flat tissue that is grown on Earth, without any supporting matrix.
The process can be used to generate tissue transplants such as cartilage or new liver cells in space from stem cells that have been harvested from patients during routine procedures on Earth.
The resulting ‘grown’ organs could also be used to test new medical products or replace animal organs used in scientific testing.
‘Artificially produced autologous human tissue could be used to determine which combination of drugs is the most suitable for the patient in question,’ said Professor Oliver Ullrich at the UZH Space Hub, the university’s innovation centre.
‘In addition, human tissue and organ-like structures produced in space could help to reduce the number of animal experiments.’
After a month, the experiment will be concluded and researchers will observe any formation of ‘organoids’ – small versions of organs – in the test tubes.
Housing of the mobile CubeLab containing 250 test tubes for the production of human tissues in weightlessness
‘The test tubes were launched with stem cells and are expected to return to Earth with organ-like tissue structures inside,’ Professor Ullrich told the Independent.
The SpaceX CRS-20 spacecraft that carried the experiment, launched last Friday, delivered more than 4,300 pounds of NASA cargo and science investigations.
Another experiment on the CRS-20, developed by University of Washington School of Medicine researchers, has also kicked off on the ISS.
The ‘Tissue Chips in Space’ project will observe how the low gravity conditions there affect heart muscle.
The experiment involves small compact devices, a bit larger that cell phone cases, comprising of rows containing heart tissue samples grown from stem cells.
The heart muscle is supported between two flexible pillars that allow it to contract freely, in contrast to the constraints of a petri dish.
The devices automatically sense and measure the contractions of the heart tissues and send these updates to Earth – freeing up time for astronauts.
Launch of the International Space Station re-supply mission Space X CRS-20 from Cape Canaveral, USA on March 6 carrying more than 4,300 pounds of NASA cargo and science investigation equipment
This model will recapitulate, on a miniature scale, what may be happening to the astronauts’ heart muscle cells and tissues during a space mission.
This could aid NASA’s efforts to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon and ultimately put humans on Mars during the 2030s.
‘The space program is looking at ways to travel longer and farther,’ said Nathan Sniadecki, a professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Washington.
‘Guarding against cardiac problems would be especially critical during space travel at distances never attempted before, such as a mission to Mars.
‘This opportunity to really kind of push the frontier for space travel is every engineer’s dream.’
As well both stem cell projects, CRS-20 sent into low gravity a new science facility scheduled to be installed to the outside of the station this spring.
The Bartolomeo facility, created by the European Space Agency and Airbus, attaches to the exterior of the Columbus laboratory module, with potential applications including Earth observation, robotics, material science and astrophysics.