Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Axiom Space will launch its second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (Ax-2) later this month, when scientists will grow stem cells in space and test how microgravity affects the development of heart and brain cells, for the first time in the world.

It is reported that the Ax-2 mission is scheduled to launch from the Falcon 9 rocket aboard SpaceX at 05:37 EDT on May 21 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. According to the mission plan, Ax-2 astronauts will grow induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) on the International Space Station, which can develop into the three main cell groups that make up the human body.

Growing these stem cells and allowing them to differentiate in space allows researchers to determine how microgravity affects their development into other types of cells such as brain and heart cells.

"A major challenge in using iPSC in the medical field is to grow enough high-quality stem cells," Aaron Sharma, a cell biologist at Cedar Senai Medical Center in Los Angeles, who co-led the study, said in a statement. We hope to be able to breed them on a large scale in billions of people so that they can be used in many different ways, including the discovery of new drugs that may improve heart function. Although we have been getting better and better in this area over the past few years, there are still some limitations in the cultivation of stem cells, and we think microgravity may overcome some of these limitations. "

According to Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, iPSC is a powerful stem cell. By reprogramming adult cells to return to a state called "pluripotency", scientists can develop into almost any type of cell found in the human body. This makes pluripotent stem cells very important in developing disease models and customized treatments.

However, growing pluripotent stem cells on the ground is troublesome, in part because gravity affects the development of these cells. This thorny problem can be solved in the low gravity environment of the International Space Station.

"Gravity is constantly pulling these pluripotent stem cells to Earth, putting pressure on them to start turning into other cells," Clive Swenson, co-lead researcher of the mission and executive director of the Cedar Senai Medical Center's Institute of Regenerative Medicine, said in a statement. But in a microgravity environment, this effect will no longer exist. "by removing gravity, researchers can test whether stem cells grow faster in space, have fewer genetic mutations, and remain pluripotent. "this is the goal of this new mission, and we are all very much looking forward to seeing what happens there," Swenson said. "

A team from Cedar Sinai Medical Center will arrive at Kennedy Space Center a week before launch to prepare stem cells and load them onto a manned dragon spacecraft. If all goes well, the crew of the Ax-2 mission will be launched on May 21 in a manned dragon spacecraft carried by the Falcon 9 rocket.

The mission lasts only a week, with longer missions in the coming months, and plans to further test the ability of stem cells to divide and replicate DNA during space flight.

Private space company Axiom Space is headquartered in Houston, Texas, where NASA's Johnson Space Center is located. Axiom Space aims to "provide universal access to low-Earth orbit for innovators, governments and individuals," the company said.

The Ax-2 mission will be Axiom Space's second mission to the International Space Station. The first mission, Ax-1, was launched by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket in April 2022 and sent four private astronauts to the International Space Station for more than two weeks. Ax-1 is also the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.

Axiom Space is also developing its own space station module and will launch it to the International Space Station in the next few years. Eventually these space station modules will be separated from the International Space Station and form the company's own private space station in low-Earth orbit.

Welcome to subscribe "Shulou Technology Information " to get latest news, interesting things and hot topics in the IT industry, and controls the hottest and latest Internet news, technology news and IT industry trends.