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WHAT
Cedars-Sinai and Space Tango are planning their third launch of pilot-scale systems for the automated in-space production of stem cells to the International Space Station. The Jan. 29 launch builds on two successful missions in 2022 and 2023 that harnessed the near-zero gravity conditions of spaceflight to spur creation of the next generation of stem cell therapies.
On this mission, funded by a NASA Research Announcement award and sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory, investigators will test manufacturing systems for induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and iPSC-derived neural progenitor cells. These cells generate many cell types, including those populating the central nervous system. Investigators will compare the cells’ growth rates on Earth and in space, and they also plan to bring back cells for gene analysis to determine the effects of space on these cells.
Microgravity has become of great interest to stem cell scientists due to unique properties it grants to biological tissues and processes that could potentially help mass-produce cells or other products in a way that is not possible to do on Earth.
WHEN
The launch to the International Space Station on SpaceX NG-20 is currently scheduled for Monday, Jan. 29 at 12:28 p.m. ET.
Watch the launch live: NASA Live.
WHO
Clive Svendsen, PhD, executive director of the Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute and co-principal investigator on the mission.
Dhruv Sareen, PhD, executive director of the Cedars-Sinai Biomanufacturing Center and co-principal investigator on the mission.
MISSION DETAILS
Launch Location: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida
Launch Provider: Northrop Grumman
Launch Vehicle: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket
Capsule: Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft
RELATED LINKS
- Cedars-Sinai Looks to Space for Tomorrow’s Stem Cell Therapies
- Manufacturing Stem Cells in Space
- On-orbit Manufacturing
- Study of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) in Microgravity
Follow Cedars-Sinai on X at @CedarsSinaiMed and scientists @drsareen and @CliveSvendsen to get live updates of the mission.
