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UPWARD | Magazine of the ISS National Lab

Kris Rainey

2019 ISSRDC Materials Science in Space Workshop Report Released

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In November, the ISS National Lab and NASA’s Space Life and Physical Sciences Research and Applications (SLPSRA) Division released the 2019 ISS Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC) Materials Science in Space Workshop Report.

The 2019 ISSRDC Materials Science in Space Workshop was held on July 29 during ISSRDC in Atlanta, Georgia. This joint workshop brought together government, university, and industry researchers and engineers to discuss how microgravity and the extreme environmental conditions on the ISS could be leveraged for innovative materials science research that meets both NASA’s exploration goals and the ISS National Lab’s goals to benefit life on Earth.

The first part of the workshop included briefings on high-priority advanced materials topics and new ideas and provided overviews of the latest facilities and instruments on the ISS available for materials research. The second part of the workshop consisted of in-depth breakout sessions, chosen based on responses to a Request for Information issued in advance of the workshop, covering three topics:

1) Functional Materials

2) Materials Characterization, Microstructure, and Process Modeling

3) Lunar Infrastructure and Surface Operations

The goal of the breakout sessions was to discuss potential future investigations, identify gaps in existing research capabilities on the ISS, and recommend follow-on actions.

The Functional Materials session focused on leveraging microgravity conditions on the ISS to develop materials that have improved or tailored properties either for use on Earth or for exploration purposes. Key themes discussed in the session include additive manufacturing and how it can be used to produce materials with improved functionality and performance, materials reuse and the ability to process waste into useful material, high-value materials that can uniquely benefit from studying their production in microgravity, and the acquiring of thermophysical property data to drive machine learning and modeling.

The Materials Characterization, Microstructure, and Process Modeling session centered on use of the ISS for benchmark experiments to study microstructure development and thermophysical properties in microgravity. Such information is needed for the development and validation of physics-based models for a wide variety of fabrication processes. Overarching themes of this session include the use of microgravity to gain fundamental knowledge of additive manufacturing and metal processes and the application of insight gained to the in-space processing, manufacture, and assembly of large-scale systems.

The Lunar Infrastructure and Surface Operations session discussed materials systems and processes necessary for operation in space, lunar, and Martian environments. The focus was on identifying research that could be done on the ISS to examine the effects of microgravity or reduced gravity on materials production and repair processes for long-duration missions on the surface of the Moon or Mars. Key themes from this session include advanced manufacturing, surface infrastructure, in-space assembly, resource prospecting, resource processing and handling, advanced materials development, dust mitigation, and space/lunar environmental compatibility testing.

The workshop report summarizes discussions from the breakout sessions and highlights the resulting key recommendations. For more information about the workshop and to view workshop presentations, visit issnationallab.org/workshops/2019-materials-in-space. Download the full workshop report at issnl.us/2019msw.

This content was adapted from an article that originally appeared on ISS360 in November 2019.

Where the Rubber Meets the Sky: Goodyear Paves the Way to Advanced Tire Material

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The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company has long demonstrated innovation in space, beginning with the company’s key contributions to the lunar landing 50 years ago. Now, onboard SpaceX’s 18th commercial resupply services mission to the space station, Goodyear sent a new investigation to space, seeking to develop advanced materials for consumer tires.

Silica is a common material used in consumer tires to help enhance fuel efficiency and traction. While advances in silica technology have been made in many key areas of importance for the tire industry, silica microstructure still represents an area where research would be beneficial. The ISS National Lab investigation from Goodyear will evaluate the formation of precipitated silica particles in the functional absence of gravity onboard the ISS, where the team may be able to observe novel molecular structures or morphologies of silica not previously observed on Earth.

Such insights could have a clear path to industrial application in the development of unique silica structures—which could result in enhanced tire performance. A breakthrough in the research of the effect of silica morphology on rubber compound properties could lead to not only significant improvements in fuel efficiency and transportation cost savings but also possibly environmental benefits to advance global efforts toward sustainable living.

ISS National Lab advanced materials investigations, such as Goodyear’s, have the ability to accelerate applied research, with the potential to bring to market innovative ideas that both demonstrate the industrial capabilities of the ISS to benefit life on Earth and also create a vibrant marketplace in low Earth orbit. Goodyear is one of many private-sector companies helping to pave the way for this exciting future.

This content was abridged and updated from an article that originally appeared on ISS360 in July 2019.

The First American Space-Based Bioprinter

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Commercial service provider Techshot, in partnership with NASA and the ISS National Lab, launched the first American bioprinter to the ISS National Lab onboard SpaceX’s 18th commercial resupply services mission. The 3D BioFabrication Facility (BFF) will enable cutting-edge biotechnology research is space.

While researchers on Earth have had limited success in printing human elements like bones and cartilage, the ability for them to manufacture soft human tissue, such as blood vessels, has proven to be much more difficult. Specifically, the bioinks used in 3D bioprinting have a low viscosity, and on Earth, scientists must use scaffolding to support bioprinted structures and prevent them from collapsing. However, this scaffolding makes it difficult to construct void spaces needed in tissues.

Bioprinting in microgravity could prove beneficial because scaffolding is not needed to keep printed structures from collapsing, allowing scientists to overcome what has been a significant hurdle in ground-based biomanufacturing of human organs.

To further assist in the printing of human elements on the space station through the BFF, Techshot partnered with nScrypt, widely regarded as one of the most reputable 3D-printing companies in the world. To address bioink-related constraints to bioprinting on Earth, nScrypt’s patented SmartPump Micro-Dispensing tool head will enable precise placement of bioink, thereby enabling stronger formation of printed materials.

Techshot and nScrypt are first seeking to validate the BFF—initially by attempting simple engineering prints, with the expectation to progress to more complex cardiac-like tissue. Within Techshot’s cell-culturing system, the printed tissue is expected to strengthen over time—and once it is viable and self-supporting, it will be sent back to Earth for further analysis.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on any given day in the United States, an estimated 75,000 people are on the active waiting list for organs, far exceeding the organs available for patients. While the road to assembling a human lung or other organs is likely still many years away, the space station is enabling researchers and engineers the ability to develop, test, and validate new facilities that could have dramatic impacts on patient care back on Earth.

More broadly, through the emergence of new space-based facilities such as the BFF, the ISS National Lab is evolving to meet the needs of the modern-day research community, providing more opportunities for groundbreaking, innovative science.

This content was abridged and updated from an article that originally appeared on ISS360 in July 2019.

Synthesizing Gas Separation Membranes in Microgravity

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Humankind has made incredible technological advancements over the past two centuries. However, many of these advancements have come at a significant cost to the environment and risk to future generations. Globally, principal human impacts to the environment include accelerated changes to Earth’s atmosphere and climate, rising sea levels and increasing ocean temperatures, desertification, shortages of natural resources such as water and food, loss of biological diversity, and widespread pollution.

Now more than ever, it is important to address these issues, and scientists are leveraging the ISS to gain new insights into global environmental challenges and develop new solutions to benefit Earth. Sustainability is a key focus area for research and development onboard the ISS National Lab, which currently has more than 31 sustainability projects in its portfolio. Results from studies conducted onboard the ISS National Lab provide meaningful insights into materials and processes that drive sustainable development.

One such project from the company Cemsica is aimed at synthesizing gas separation membranes in microgravity. Despite many innovations in the energy industry, technology development has been lagging for the removal of gases, notably carbon dioxide, from waste air streams. Cemsica has been working on a potential breakthrough technology that addresses the critical need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that result from industrial processes.

Cemsica is developing nanoporous membranes that can be tailored to remove specific contaminants, like carbon dioxide, from combustion exhaust gas streams, and the company conducted an investigation onboard the ISS National Lab aimed at improving synthesis of the membranes.

“The carbon dioxide footprint is one of the biggest problems in the energy industry,” said Negar Rajabi, founder and chief executive officer of Cemsica.

However, carbon dioxide is not always a waste product. It can also be a commodity sold as a feedstock for manufacturing chemicals and beverages—if the carbon dioxide is pure and can be recovered economically.

Commercial methods for capturing carbon dioxide have been around for several years but are complex and very expensive. As such, they have not been successfully implemented on a large scale. Cemsica believes its nanoparticle membranes are a better solution that will reduce operational costs, increase efficiency, and accelerate technological innovations in the industry that benefit the world.

A critical feature of Cemsica’s membranes are the nanopores—tiny holes that allow precise separation of carbon dioxide from other gas molecules. Because gravity significantly impacts how particles order themselves on the nanoscale, Rajabi hopes that synthesizing membranes onboard the ISS National Lab will allow Cemsica to overcome some remaining manufacturing challenges in the synthesis and assembly of the membranes—allowing them to produce even lower-cost membranes with improved properties.

Although nanomaterials are not new, Rajabi says there is still much to learn that can enhance nanomaterial properties. She and her team are still in the process of analyzing the data from their ISS National Lab investigation, but preliminary results have shown some improvements in the formation, shape, and size of the particles. Confirming these positive results would provide insights for improving manufacturing of the membranes on the ground and could also open the door for future in-orbit manufacturing in this sector, expanding industrial use of low Earth orbit.

This content was abridged and updated from an article that originally appeared in Upward Volume 4 Issue 1 from July 2019.

Gluing Bones and Speeding New Bone Growth

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Since 2013, the ISS National Lab has partnered with MassChallenge, the largest startup accelerator to award nondiluted funds to early-stage entrepreneurs. Founded in Boston, Massachusetts, MassChallenge has grown to become part of a movement to support entrepreneurs through grant competitions worldwide.

The ISS National Lab has also partnered with The Boeing Company since 2014 to award grants through a MassChallenge “Technology in Space Prize.” Annually, this prize is awarded to several promising companies to support projects to be conducted onboard the ISS National Lab. Together, Boeing and the ISS National Lab have allocated more than $4.5 million in funding toward this prize since its inception.

A MassChallenge-funded project from LaunchPad Medical used the ISS National Lab to test a new biomaterial that can glue bones together. The injectable glue, Tetranite®, has the potential to speed new bone growth while reducing the recovery time and pain of patients, particularly in the orthopedic world, said Brian Hess, LaunchPad Medical CEO and an engineer by trade. Located in Lowell, Massachusetts, LaunchPad Medical was founded in 2014 by Hess and a team of entrepreneurs with extensive expertise in startup medical device development and commercialization.

The company’s experiment, which launched on SpaceX CRS-13 in December 2017 and returned with SpaceX CRS-13 in January 2018, examined how osteoblasts—the cells responsible for bone formation—reacted in the presence of Tetranite®.

“These cells typically slow down when in microgravity, because the space environment accelerates osteoporosis,” Hess said, citing the well-known statistic that without intervention, astronauts can lose, on average, up to 2% of their bone mass for every month they spend in space.

In LaunchPad Medical’s ISS National Lab investigation, the research team examined how the osteoblasts responded to Tetranite® in comparison with osteoblasts alone and osteoblasts in the presence of an existing commercially available bone-graft product. ISS crew members captured photos of the cells to show their health and growth, while also collecting cell culture media every five days to study secreted molecules that relate to bone-cell behavior. Finally, cellular RNAs from the beginning and end of the experiment were compared to evaluate changes in the expression of genes related to bone growth.

Analyses revealed how the spaceflight osteoblasts responded to Tetranite® by growing and exhibiting bone-formation behaviors. “We saw favorable gene-expression changes marking bone growth that will help advance our studies,” Hess said. “To see this response in the extreme and rapid osteoporosis-inducing space environment motivates us to study Tetranite® for use in patients with osteoporosis, who are susceptible to a bone injury because of their poor bone quality and whose recovery from injury is quite challenging.”

Hess anticipates beginning human trials within the next year and will initially target the dental industry by providing glue to immediately stabilize tooth implants, as opposed to the current treatment plan, which often requires staged surgeries. However, Tetranite® has the most significant potential impact for older people who suffer from osteoporosis. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, more than half of the U.S. population ages 50 years and above have either osteoporosis or low bone density. Studies suggest that approximately one in two women and up to one in four men in this age range will break a bone because of osteoporosis.

“Our first program will focus on dentistry and then orthopedics, targeting specific parts of the body, including the spine, cranium, joints, and extremities,” Hess said.

Having an injectable glue that naturally resorbs and is replaced with bone would eliminate or reduce the need to make large incisions in order to drill holes to implant metal screws or other hardware devices to repair damaged bone. Moreover, patients would not have to return for later surgeries to have hardware removed.

“Tetranite® could change the landscape of how clinicians treat bone problems and improve patients’ experience by reducing pain and accelerating healing,” Hess said. “It potentially could be a real revolution to the surgical field of orthopedics.”

This content was abridged and updated from an article that originally appeared in Upward Volume 4 Issue 1 from July 2019.

Expanding Horizons for Microbiome Research on the ISS

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Microorganisms, whether fungi, archaea, bacteria, or viruses, are often disparaged as germs with nothing better to do but cause disease. However, scientific advances to better understand the form and function of the human microbiome (the collection of microorganisms that live in and on people) have revealed that the blind eradication of microorganisms is not the answer even if it were possible. In fact, each of us has a unique microbiome that is a vital part of human health, and healthy microbiomes play an active role in protecting us from disease. Healthy microbes (and their interactions with each other as part of the human microbiome) need to be identified and fostered to sustain health.

The ISS National Lab workshop “Exploring the Microbiome/Immunome and Disease on the International Space Station” focused on how the spaceflight environment might accelerate research to better understand the microbiome and its role in maintaining the balance between health and disease. The workshop brought together more than 40 thought leaders from academia, government, and the private sector to discuss ways in which they could work together to improve human health on Earth through spaceflight microbiome research.

Because the microbiome involves complex community interactions of numerous species, many of which are known only by their DNA signatures, it is difficult to fully characterize how the microbes on skin or in the gut contribute to health and disease or how the balance within microbial communities changes in response to the environment. However, research conducted on Earth has shown that our microbiome performs many functions essential to human health, such as making otherwise inaccessible nutrients digestible, providing essential vitamins and nutrients, and protecting us from pathogens.

For example, healthy microbiomes transplanted into individuals with recurrent gut infections are an effective clinical treatment. Moreover, the gut microbiomes of obese people are different from those of lean people, and the microbiomes of people with autism are different from those of people without autism. Because the microbiome may be involved in such diverse conditions, it is critical that researchers find ways to more fully understand its behavior and function—which is where the ISS National Lab may provide an advantage by offering an alternative platform for studying the microbiome.

Spaceflight induces sudden but persistent and profound effects on the human body. Studying the microbiomes of humans and animal models onboard the ISS provides a window into how microbial communities associated with different environments or locations on the body respond to stimuli such as stress, dietary changes, and immune dysfunction—all of which are known to impact the microbiome.

Thus, characterizing the microbiome’s response to spaceflight may yield insights into the complex community interactions that underlie the microbiome’s beneficial—or detrimental—effects on human health. Better understanding these interactions will help medical professionals devise new approaches to leverage those beneficial effects and combat detrimental effects here on Earth.

Participants of the ISS National Lab workshop provided recommendations aimed at maximizing the impact of microbiome research on the ISS, facilitating collaborations and public-private partnerships in support of such initiatives, and standardizing research approaches. These recommendations, which are detailed in a report released in July, are helping to define the path forward in developing a sustainable microbiome research program on the ISS National Lab.

This content was abridged and updated from an article that originally appeared in Upward Volume 4 Issue 1 from July 2019.

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