DESCRIPTION OF THIS OPPORTUNITY
To ensure crew safety for long-duration missions beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO), we need to further characterise, monitor, and address the physiological challenges identified in LEO research programmes as we aim for more remote destinations. These goals could benefit from the use of advanced models that better mimic human physiology, and supplements or replaces any animal experimentation. As such, tissue chip or organoid models may provide this technological breakthrough. These models are revolutionising the medicine and pharmacology fields, by providing more accurate human tissue analogues for drug testing and disease modelling. Organoids have been instrumental in studying complex diseases such as cancer and cystic fibrosis, leading to significant advancements in personalised medicine. Further, the use of tissue chips and organoids may serve as biosentinels on the Moon/Mars, providing a dose-responsive biological readout of radiation and other space stressor effects. Defining new biomarkers for (primarily) ionising radiation could provide a non-invasive means of assessing an astronaut’s exposure to radiation in real-time. Developing standardised models of human physiology, such as tissue chips and organoids, will enhance Europe’s healthcare sector by creating technologies that can be directly applied to medical research and treatment.
Ground-based facilities (GBF) play a crucial role in this process, providing the ability to simulate space environments and assess potential risks in a timely and cost-effective manner. These facilities allow us to leverage space analogues for establishing advanced tissue chip and organoid models, which can serve as reliable human health indicators.
This AO specifically targets research utilising GBFs to leverage space analogues for establishing tissue-on-chip and organoid models as human health indicators. These facilities will enable researchers to conduct comprehensive and timely experiments to gain valuable insights into the potential harmful effects of space environments and develop more effective countermeasures for future deep-space missions. The AO seeks to establish tissue-on-chip and organoid models for human space exploration whilst capitalising on GBFs to address three critical risk areas:
1) establishing a framework to assess the risk of radiation damage on human physiological systems;
2) determining the radioprotective efficacy of pharmacological agents, and their effective shelf life under space conditions;
3) research addressing the toxicity of simulated lunar dust
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