WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Removing the force of gravity from development processes can lead to products that are higher quality, have fewer defects, and are more effective than when developed on Earth. Companies are demonstrating these improved results can be achieved in the unique microgravity environment on the International Space Station (ISS), which orbits about 250 miles above the planet.

The research opportunities that have demonstrated the unique market value of in-space manufacturing, technology advancement and drug development have come through NASA’s investment in dedicating transportation and research time for ISS National Lab investigations.

ZURICH (University of Zurich PR) — The University of Zurich has sent adult human stem cells to the International Space Station (ISS). Researchers from UZH Space Hub will explore the production of human tissue in weightlessness.

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Two days after its launch from Florida, the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft was installed on the Earth-facing side of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 12:01 p.m. EDT.

The 18th contracted commercial resupply mission from SpaceX (CRS-18) delivers more than 5,000 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory.

Joint Development of Automated, Modular Flow Chemistry Platform for Use On-Orbit

LEXINGTON, Ky., June 12, 2019 (Space Tango PR) — Space Tango announced today a collaboration with the Beeler Research Group from the Boston University Department of Chemistry to develop a fully-automated system to support chemical reactions on-orbit. The Beeler Research Group was selected by the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory to develop reactor systems for flow chemistry in space earlier this year. This work expands on existing liquid-liquid separation capabilities demonstrated last year by Mass Challenge Winner Zaiput Flow Technologies and Space Tango, on the International Space Station.

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by Marian Frank
UA College of Medicine

PHOENIX (UA PR) — Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix are partnering with Space Tango, a private aerospace company that designs, builds and operates facilities on the International Space Station, to develop an easy way to test astronauts’ health in space.

Led by Frederic Zenhausern, director of the UA Center for Applied NanoBioscience and Medicine, the project has received three independent NASA grants. The latest funding will allow researchers to develop a diagnostic tool – a miniature syringe-like device that can detect bioagents and hundreds of biomarkers in blood or saliva – and test it in space.

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla, November 27, 2018 (SpaceX PR)– SpaceX is targeting no earlier than December 4 at 1:38 p.m. EST for its 16th commercial resupply mission (awarded by NASA) to the International Space Station  from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will bring approximately 300 kilograms of research and hardware facilities to the orbiting laboratory under the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory flight allocation. There are more than 20 payloads included on this mission sponsored by the ISS National Lab.

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ST-42 (Credit: Space Tango)

LEXINGTON, Ken., November 15, 2018 (Space Tango PR) – Space Tango, a leader in the commercialization of space through R&D, bioengineering and manufacturing in microgravity, today announced ST-42, a fully autonomous robotic orbital platform designed specifically for scalable manufacturing in space.

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla., October 24, 2018 (CASIS PR) – The International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), today announced a series of project awards stemming from a funding opportunity on human physiology and disease onboard the orbiting laboratory. Both NCATS and NIBIB are part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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Space Tango is team with Atalo Holdings and Anavii Market to conduct research on hemp seeds aboard the International Space Station. “The venture will explore the various aspects of hemp, but particularly those associated with biomedical and health uses, focusing on enhancing hemp’s applications, efficacy and value,” Anavii Market said in a post on its website. “When we send plants to the International Space Station, we eliminate one core, constant […]

FLUMIAS team members install the 3D fluorescence microscope that will allow live-cell imaging in microgravity into Payload Card-8 of the TangoLab in preparation for launch aboard the SpaceX Dragon last month. (Credit: DLR)

HOUSTON (NASA PR) — Honey, I shrunk the microscope! A miniaturized fluorescence microscope makes it possible to observe changes in living cells in microgravity. Future observations of astronauts’ cells could tell scientists important information about how the body adapts to space.

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