Space Bio-3D Printing From Human Cartilage To Thyroid Gland In Rodents And To Space Artificial Meat

Space bio-3D printing may be a concept we've heard recently. But as with 3D printing technology, there was only a short accumulation before it happened! Do we need Space bio-3D printing? Can't we perform such a complex task on Earth? Of course, the answer is yes. But research on Space bio-3D printing shows that it may be more effective in a micro-gravity environment. Meanwhile, decades of exploration of other planets will require bio-printing onboard ships to cure astronauts' diseases.

The International Space Station will be the best place to conduct such exercises. In 2018, Russian astronaut Oleg Kononenko became the first person to make Space biometric 3D printing on behalf of his country. Using a 3D printer created for the space environment, Kononenko can produce human cartilage tissue and rodent thyroid glands. The bio-3D printing engineering experiment with the cooperation of the United States, Russia and Israel began in September 2019.  On October 7, 2019, Aleph Farms, Israel's biotechnology startup, announced that it had conducted a joint experiment on the International Space Station on September 26 to successfully cultivate the first piece of artificial meat in space using a three-dimensional bio-printer. The experiment was conducted by Aleph Farms in collaboration with the Russian Biotechnology Laboratory 3D Bio-Printing Solutions and two American companies. The experiment content is to deliver bovine cells to the International Space Station and then grow them into small muscle tissues similar to traditional meat in a microgravity environment using a 3D bio-printer.

With 3D printing becoming the mainstream, bio-printing has become the core focus in the medical field, showing the potential of unlimited innovation opportunities. The environment is the key to the development of fragile cells. Even in the best research laboratories, fragile cells are usually not easy to maintain. By pressing the material in the syringe for biological printing, the cells can grow in different forms. In October 2017, the mission aboard Soyuz MS-10 failed, but the printer was eventually delivered to the International Space Station.

Researchers are curious about how microgravity can facilitate bioprinting and the growth of cells and tissues. At the same time, the recent use of this technology in space to examine other medical problems has also interested them, such as radiation and human problems. At present, the focus of the research is on how the structures are combined and how they behave. So the connection system and signal transmission are required to have a precise system and a lighter volume.

Vibration	10Hz-2000Hz 294m2/s
Random Vibration Power	Power spectral density 0.6G /Hz, root mean 2 square value of total acceleration 28.4G
Shock	980m/s2 6ms
Salt spray	96h
Humidity	240h
Thrmal shock	-55 ～ +175℃
Environment temperature range	-55 ～ +175℃
Magnetic permeability	200 gamma
Irradiation resistant	Total dose:1X106 Gy
Thermal vacuum outgassing	TML ≤ 1%，CVCM ≤ 0.1%

Scientists around the world have created organizations to carry out further medical research, which continues to make progress in bioprinting. The ultimate goal includes the manufacture of human organs in the laboratory. Such innovations could have a huge impact on patients with severe illnesses, such as those waiting for organ donations. Besides, 3D printing organs offer the possibility of patient-specific nursing, which may mean that people do not have to worry about infection, rejection and severe complications.

Space Bio-3D printing technology will play an indispensable role in future space station operation, deep space exploration and other tasks. As far as we know, it takes at least half a year for the space station to wait for the replenishment of the Earth, while 3-D printing takes only 1-2 days to produce parts that need to be replaced. Therefore, it is helpful for astronauts to manufacture necessary experimental tools, maintenance tools and spare parts under a weightlessness environment. It greatly improves the flexibility of space station experiment and the timeliness of maintenance, reduces the types and quantity of space station spare parts and operating costs, and reduces the dependence of space station on ground replenishment. And China's first space on-orbit 3D printer has already been developed successfully. Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that after two years of efforts, the first domestic 3D printer developed by the Institute and the Center of Space Application Engineering Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has successfully completed parabolic weightlessness flight test in Bordeaux, France, and can complete 3D printing in microgravity environment. As one of the professional electrical connector manufacturers, Sunkye can provide high quality aerospace connector which can work perfectly as SPACE BIO-3D printer connectors in the future space station. Feel free to contact us for more information.


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