Human Tissue Production in Space

Organoids are 3D in vitro culture systems derived from self-organizing stem cells, recapitulating the in vivo architecture, functionality, and genetic signature of original tissues. Recent developments of human patient-derived organoids have enabled disease modeling with precision, highlighting their great potential in biomedical applications, translational medicine, and personalized therapy. We developed a fully scalable biotechnological process to produce such human organoids from autologous mesenchymal stems in microgravity, where 3D growth and differentiation into complex tissues is achieved in the force-free environment.

The “3D Organoids from Space” project started in 2018, when the UZH and Airbus team participated in an Airbus-internal innovation competition for initial funding. The project successfully prevailed against roughly 500 other ideas. The R&D phase 2019 -2021 included extensive ground-based experiments and two production tests on the International Space Station (ISS) on board SpX-20 and SpX-23. We successfully produced cartilage, bone, and liver tissue, validated by specific functional tissue markers and with 100% yield, which could be further cultivated longer than 30 days post-flight without loss of quality. Thus, for the first time, we have established a full production process for human tissue in microgravity. The IP originated from this joint UZH-Airbus R&D project is currently being exclusively licensed to a UZH Spin-Off.

Watch the Video "The Space Factory- Human Tissue from Space" on YouTube (German with English subtitels)