Heart Muscle Tissue Chips Among Life Science Investigations Launching to ISS on SpaceX CRS-27

March 8, 2023

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), March 8, 2023 – Two tissue chipA tissue chip, or organ-on-a-chip or microphysiological system, is a small engineered device containing human cells and growth media to model the structure and function of human tissues and/or organs. Using tissue chips in microgravity, researchers can study the mechanisms behind disease and test new treatments for patients on Earth. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has a multiyear partnership with the ISS National Laboratory® to fund tissue chip research on the space station. investigations funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are among the payloads launching on SpaceX’s 27th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station). These projects, sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory, will study microgravity’s effects on engineered heart muscle tissue, and results could lead to new treatments for heart disease.

This mission also includes life sciences projects from several commercial entities: a biotechnology startup advancing its desktop drug manufacturing system, a large pharmaceutical company studying protein crystallization to improve therapeutic production processes, and a Commercial Service ProviderImplementation Partners that own and operate commercial facilities for the support of research on the ISS or are developing future facilities. testing a bioprinter that can print human tissues in the absence of gravity.

All of these ISS National Lab-sponsored projects aim to further research and development that brings value to humanity, validates new technologies and space-based facilities, and enables a sustainable economy in low Earth orbit(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles..

Here is a quick look at some of the ISS National Lab-sponsored life science payloads on this mission:

• Research teams from Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University are using tissue chips in space to improve understanding of heart disease and develop new drugs to treat heart conditions on Earth. These projects were funded through the Tissue Chips in Space initiative, a multiyear collaboration between the ISS National Lab and NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Tissue chips are systems containing human cells grown on artificial scaffolding to represent functional units of an organ. Muscles, including the heart, can weaken in microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment., so heart muscle tissue chips in space could be used to model heart disease and screen potential new drugs. These projects build on knowledge both teams gained from previous tissue chip investigations on the space station.
• Researchers from pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb will use the microgravity environment of the ISS to study the crystallization of biotherapeutic compounds. In space, some protein crystals grow larger and more well-ordered than on Earth, and the research team aims to identify the physical conditions that result in high-quality crystals. The Bristol Myers Squibb team aims to determine how this knowledge could help improve biomanufacturing processes, elucidation of the structure of complex molecules, and convenient delivery of higher doses of therapeutic proteins on Earth. This research builds on a previous ISS National Lab-sponsored project from the company.
• Current drug manufacturing relies on large-scale, centralized processes that have high infrastructure cost and lack flexibility for precision medicine. Biomedical startup MakerHealth seeks to transform the drug manufacturing process by providing a modular, dynamic desktop system that utilizes the advantages of flow chemistry. The company will use microgravity to explore ways to optimize its AmpliRx modular biochemical manufacturing platform, which could significantly reduce the cost of manufacturing life-saving medications that are typically cost-prohibitive. This project was awarded through the Technology in Space PrizeA prize that provides grant funding for business startups participating in the MassChallenge startup accelerator program to conduct innovative research and technology development utilizing the ISS National Lab. The prize is funded by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, which manages the ISS National Lab, and Boeing. (funded by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. and Boeing in partnership with the MassChallenge startup accelerator program).
• The upgraded Redwire Space BioFabrication Facility(Abbreviation: BFF) The BFF is a 3D bioprinter on the ISS capable of printing human tissue from bioinks mixed with living cells. This ISS National Lab commercial facility is owned and operated by Redwire Space. (BFF) that recently launched to station will produce its first print using materials that are launching on this mission. Researchers will use the 3D bioprinter to create a human meniscus, or knee cartilage. Results from this project will help pave the way for in-space bioprinting of tissues—and possibly even organs in the future—that could one day help patients back on Earth. The BFF was first launched to the ISS in 2019, and this upgraded version offers better temperature control to keep the bioinks at the ideal consistency for optimal printing. It also provides new camera views so that ground controllers can better control the prints.

SpaceX CRS-27 is slated to launch no earlier than March 14, 2023, from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

These are only a few of the investigations sponsored by the ISS National Lab that are launching on this mission. To learn more about all ISS National Lab-sponsored payloads on SpaceX CRS-27, please visit our launch page.

Download a high-resolution photo for this release: SpaceX CRS-27: Life Sciences

Media Contact:       
Patrick O’Neill
904-806-0035
PONeill@ISSNationalLab.org

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About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory: The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Lab allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS(Abbreviation: CASIS™) The nonprofit organization that manages the ISS National Lab, which receives at least 50 percent of the U.S. research allocation on the International Space Station to facilitate research that benefits humanity (NASA manages the other 50% and focuses on research for space exploration purposes).) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative AgreementA cooperative agreement is Federal assistance that establishes a relationship between the U.S. Government and a recipient in which the principal purpose of the relationship is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation.  Since 2011, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space™ (CASIS™) has managed the National Laboratory® through a Cooperative Agreement with NASA. with NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit issnationallab.org.

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