SpaceX 23rd NASA Commercial Resupply Services will include 4,000 pounds of a variety of cargo. It will also include a 3D device that can print tissues over wounds. Names ad, “Bioprint First Aid”, is a portable device that can be handheld. The device is made by German Space Agency which can use a patient’s own skin cells and create a tissue-forming patch bandage over wounds that are open. This process enables much faster healing of wounds.
SpaceX’s 23rd NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-24) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled for December 22nd. A Falcon 9 rocket will propel a Dragon capsule to orbit at 5:06 a.m. EST, from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Dragon will arrive before Christmas Eve at the orbiting laboratory by Wednesday, December 22 at around 4:30 a.m. EST.
The cargo has goodies and presents for astronauts working at the Space Station, to celebrate the holidays in orbit. The usual dozens of science supplies and equipment to conduct important research are also being sent. NASA says that using bioprinting to heal wounds will be useful for future human expeditions to the Moon and Mars. Testing the device in a zero-gravity environment will enable scientists to review the bioprinter’s performance and determine whether it is an efficient way to heal wounds faster. To use the device for long-duration missions medical scientists plan to extract an individual’s cells before a mission and if they get injured the device would provide a customized treatment to quickly treat an injury.
Mobile bioprinting
Project manager Michael Becker from the German Space Agency said, “On human space exploration missions, skin injuries need to be treated quickly and effectively. Mobile bioprinting could significantly accelerate the healing process. The personalized and individual bioprinting-based wound treatment could have a great benefit and is an important step for further personalized medicine in space and on Earth.”
The handheld device will be tested by European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer in microgravity. He received specialized training to use the Bioprint First Aid. Maurer is part of SpaceX’s Crew-3, he arrived at the ISS aboard the Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft on November 11, alongside NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Kayla Barron, Tom Marshburn. They are all tasked with performing science research with the supplies that will be delivered by CRS-24 Dragon in a couple of weeks. Other science research that they will receive includes: Equipment to research cancer drugs and treatments, plants that will be monitored to assess how they adapt to the space environment, and the crew will even test a detergent to clean their clothing in outer space.
Credits- Tesmanian
