INVITRO, a leading medical company, and 3D Bioprinting Solutions biotechnology laboratory announced a successful completion of the first stage of the Magnetic 3D Bioprinter space experiment. For the first time on orbit, cosmonaut-researcher Oleg Kononenko printed human cartilage tissue and a rodent thyroid gland using a Russian bioprinter.
On December 3, 2018, the bioprinter was delivered to the ISS (International Space Station) on board the Soyuz MS-11 manned spacecraft. The project started 2 years ago when an agreement was signed with RSC Energia (Roscosmos State Corporation) on conducting an experiment on board the Russian segment of the ISS. It was important for scientists to analyze how space microgravity affects the efficiency of creating living tissues and organ constructs.
The joint project of INVITRO, 3D Bioprinting Solutions, and RSC with the support of Skolkovo Foundation was the first on-orbit experiment initiated by a Russian private company.
In addition to technical and scientific innovations, the experiment utilized a whole range of new organizational approaches, which will be further transferred to other companies working with the state sector in the space technology and innovation segment. According to Andrey Divaev, Head of Research and Development at the ROSCOSMOS State Corporation’s Business Systems Department, partnership with a private company in this format has become a unique experience for the state corporation, which will facilitate the future projects with commercial companies.
The biological material printed in space would return to Earth on December 20 on the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft. 3D Bioprinting Solutions promises to complete the analysis of the space experiment and publish its results in the first half of 2019. An American space experiment using a bioprinter is scheduled for February, but the Russian crew has already become the first one to do it.