Astrobone in orbit!

NASA's uncrewed CRS SpX-34 resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has taken to the sky that will deliver hardware and scientific experiments.

The crew on board the ISS will have to carry out various experiments including AstroBone that seeks to test whether human bone cells retain the ability to adhere, proliferate and differentiate on the scaffold in conditions of microgravity, providing key evidence for the clinical use of a resorbable bone. The substitute bone developed by GreenBone Ortho S.p.A., called b.Bone, is made from rattan, a Southeast Asian plant whose three-dimensional structure is naturally similar to that of human bone. 

Kayser Space designed and built the experiment units that house the scaffold, the three-dimensional model that provides support for cell growth. The 16 units constitute the operational infrastructure of the experiment. They consist of systems equipped with a culture chamber and power modules, which are essential in ensuring the survival, growth and monitoring of cells - in this case, mesenchymal stem cells - in space. The experiment units will be installed inside KUBIK, an incubator developed by COMAT with contributions from Kayser Space and operated within the European Space Agency's (ESA) Columbus module. The system will allow the experiment to be performed for around a month at a constant and controlled temperature. Microgravity conditions will be in place for 50% of the experiment units and Earth gravity will be used for the other half, which will be placed on a centrifuge built into the incubator.

AstroBone’s results may have impacts both on earth and space for the treatment of osteoporosis. Once brought back to earth the samples will be analyzed by the joint team from San Martino Hospital and the University of Genoa. The first scientific results are expected within a year.