3D bioprinting and in-space manufacturing are the focus of a number of projects being carried out by NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which docked at the International Space Station yesterday via SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft ‘Freedom’.
The five-month mission includes several investigations sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory which form part of hundreds of space-based research projects that are thought to benefit life back on Earth.
The ISS crew is set to support four investigations funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), which will launch on an upcoming Commercial Resupply Services mission. One of those projects includes a collaborative 3D bioprinting investigation from Oregon State University and Texas Tech University focused on cardiac health. It plans to use 3D bioprinted cardiac organoids to study microgravity-induced atrophy on heart muscle cells in order to derive greater understanding of heart muscle atrophy, which occurs in conditions such as cancer, muscle disease, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, sepsis, and heart failure.
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Multiple projects sponsored by the ISS National Lab and funded by NASA will also focus on in-space manufacturing. On an upcoming resupply mission, a project from Malta College of Arts, Science, and Technology, supported by Nanoracks, called ASTROBEAT will test a heatless method of welding, which could one day be used to safely repair space platforms and ensure their long-term viability, which would help to address the growing concern of space debris. The experiment will test remote-operated, cold-welding to apply metal patches to simulated spacecraft hull samples.
Last month, the ESA reported a successful first metal 3D print had been produced in microgravity on the ISS in a collaboration with Airbus, AddUp, Highftech, and Cranfield University. The five-year ‘Metal3D’ project is thought to enable faster replacement of components or manufacturing of new ones to avoid the need for transportation of physical parts to space. Polymer 3D printers, meanwhile, have been on board the ISS and printing parts since 2014.
