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The next replenishment mission of the International Space Station will contain sophisticated "bullet points" designed to provide valuable scientific data on future human spaceflight and disease on Earth.
About 100 chips will be transported to the ISS, containing live human cells designed to replicate the function of key organs.
The CRS-17 mission is SpaceX's 17th replenishment mission in the orbiting space laboratory. Launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, an unmanned SpaceX Dragon capsule will carry the cargo to the ISS. The launch was originally scheduled for April 26, but a power supply problem at the space station delayed the launch by May 3.
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The Tissue Chips in Space project involves the National Center for the Advancement of Translational Sciences (NCATS) of the National Institute of Health and the US Space Station National Laboratory.
Tissue Chips Research at MIT (International Space Station)
Dr. Michael Roberts, Deputy Chief Scientist of the ISS National Laboratory, told Fox News that the chips allowed scientists to monitor cells in microgravity.
"This is a very useful model for us here on Earth," he said. "The National Institutes of Health is interested in the fight against diseases. NASA is interested in research on long-term space missions."
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Scientists send four different types of tissue chips to the ISS. These include a cartilage, bone and synovial (joint tissue) flap developed by MIT, a host lung defense chip developed by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a kidney chip, developed by the University of Washington. A chip "blood-brain barrier" developed by the specialist in biotechnology Emulate will be used to study the semipermeable brain membrane.
File photo – The International Space Station is seen in this view from the Space Shuttle Discovery after the unstaffing of the two spacecraft on this photo provided by NASA and taken on March 7, 2011.
(REUTERS / NASA / Document)
The chip developed by MIT will be used to study the recovery capacity of bones and cartilage after injury, according to Roberts, while the kidney chip will offer insight into the onset of advanced renal failure in a microgravity environment. The flea containing the lung cells will be used to study the effect of pathogens on the lungs, while the "blood-brain barrier" chip will be used to study brain diseases.
"This has very important implications for neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and for drug delivery," added Roberts.
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"The tissue chips themselves can be adapted to any type of cell culture," he said.
MIT has been working on the development of a cartilaginous, bony and synovial flea (joint tissue). (US National Laboratory of the International Space Station)
A first chipset for cell aging analysis was sent to the ISS during a SpaceX replenishment mission in December. These will be returned to Earth in the same capsule as Dragon for the next replenishment mission.
"The investigators will have the samples in their hands and some data in about 40 days. [of the chips’ return to Earth]"Roberts said.
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Scientists will also study tissue samples sent in space to find out how astronauts will behave during epic missions. NASA's long-term goal is to send a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s – a return trip to the red planet could take two and a half years.
"This tissue chip is a very big step forward," said Fox News, former NASA astronaut Terry Virts. "Astronauts complain if you want their brain tissue or stomach," he joked.
Virts is a consultant for the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the ISS American laboratory.
"It's very important to test the technology," he said, explaining that pioneering science projects involve a lot of trial and error. The benefits, however, could be considerable, both on Earth and in orbit. "Any help in the fight against Alzheimer's disease or osteoarthritis would be great," Virts said.
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