ISS OBT-MED CNTGCY DRILL
(Photo Credit: Expedition 52 Paolo Nespoli @astro_paolo Twitter)

Health check for Paolo Nespoli using Tempus Pro
(Photo Credit: ESA Multimedia)

Project Name: Tempus ALS

Customer: ESA (prime contractor)

Objective: Flight Demonstrator of TEMPUS ALS, an instrument for integrated monitoring of human physiological parameters for future space exploration missions.

Description: 

The Tempus ALS is a modular advanced telemedicine vital signs monitor with multiple capabilities that are consistent with many of the requirements of current (planned) and future human exploration missions (e.g., compact, robust, scalable, adaptable, evolutive, ease of use). The device is manufactured by RDT Ltd., a Philips Company (UK) and stems from a demonstration project supported by ESA’s Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) – Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) Programme. Objective of the contract with Kayser Space is to deliver the integration, qualification, acceptance and mission support of a flight demonstration of TEMPUS ALS on the International Space Station (ISS). Testing on the ISS shall support the demonstration that a single device can enable the more efficient execution physiological parameters monitoring in a real operational environment, considering system preparation, operation, ability to support real-time data transmissions and stowage. Furthermore, the device should enhance the on-orbit capabilities to respond to contingency. To demonstrate this, the Tempus ALS will be incorporated into a simulated on-orbit medical emergency drill to demonstrate the advantage compared with current ISS capabilities. Additional features of the Tempus ALS that can complete or enhance the response to life-threatening on orbit conditions will also be tested. Finally, testing on ISS is a necessary step for TRL advancement from 6 to 9 and for potential future use during future exploration-class missions.

Project Name: Micro Age-2

Customer: UK Space Agency - under contract to the University of Liverpool

Objective: Understanding of the role of mitochondria as key regulators of muscle mass in microgravity and during ageing.

Description: 

Loss of skeletal muscle and the ensuing weakness is a major cause of frailty. The loss occurs over decades in older people on earth and occurs very rapidly in astronauts exposed to microgravity in space. There is evidence that the process underlying muscle loss in space may represent an accelerated form of what happens with ageing. Small structures within skeletal muscle cells, called mitochondria generate the energy that muscles need to contract, provide the signals for muscles to adapt and they ensure cell survival. Several studies suggest that degenerative changes in mitochondria are key mediators of the muscle loss during ageing on earth and also potentially in the rapid muscle loss in microgravity. The Micro Age-2 experiment has been conceived to study the molecular mechanisms of muscle loss with exposure to microgravity by using the International Space Station, that is the unique laboratory offering prolonged weightlessness conditions. Kayser Space is the industrial partner of the programme, in charge of the design, manufacture and qualification of the bioreactor where the muscle cells will be cultured, stretched, electrically stimulated and the resulting contraction monitored. The hardware comprises a culture chamber and reservoirs with pumps providing multiple culture chamber refreshes of different media. The muscle cells will be installed in scaffolds within the culture chamber attached to electrodes for electrical stimulation. Stepper motors will deliver the required stretching of the muscle fibres. The experiment hardware will be integrated in the KIC Magnum, a 1 unit Kayser-designed standard ISS experiment containers and installed in the ESA KUBIK incubator in the Columbus module of the ISS. Thanks to the novel design of an autonomous power supply, Micro Age-2 will be the first KUBIK payload able to deliver refresh nutrients to the biological samples in the launch vehicle during their journey to the ISS.

Project Name: Muscle Stimulation

Customer: ESA (prime contractor)

Objective: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation to enhance the exercise benefits for muscle functions during spaceflight.

Description: 

Muscle atrophy and the associated rapid decline in exercise capacity are still a concern for crew-health and their operational proficiency during prolonged space missions. Despite the success of exercise to sustain astronaut health and performance in spaceflight, these countermeasures are time consuming and do not entirely prevent muscle wasting and weakness. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is a well-recognized efficient modality to potentiate muscle performance in athletes and healthy individuals, and to combat muscle atrophy during prolonged periods of disuse, immobilization, injury, or in patients affected by chronic diseases. The goal of this project is to apply inflight an evidence-based NMES protocol and assess the benefits of this countermeasure in ISS crew, namely the exercise capacity, and muscle mass and function of the tibialis anterior, quadriceps femoris and triceps surae muscles. Objective of the contract with Kayser Space is to deliver the integration, qualification, acceptance and mission support of a flight demonstration of a Neuromuscular electrical stimulation device and accessories to demonstrate the efficacy of the protocol on the International Space Station (ISS).

GCC integrated Experiment Unit

GCC Scientific models performing biological compatibility tests at the ICR

Project Name: Glioma Co Culture

Customer: UK Space Agency - under contract to the Institute of Cancer Research

Objective: Investigate Subclonal Co-operativity in Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG) in microgravity.

Description: 

Diffuse midline gliomas (DMG) are childhood brain tumours for which there is currently no cure. Unlike histologically similar lesions in adults, DMGs affect critical midline structures such as the brainstem, making surgical resection impossible. Less than 5% of children survive 2 years past diagnosis. A key element of DMG that frustrates the researchers’ ability to devise effective treatments is the presence of extensive intratumoral heterogeneity in these tumours. However, it has been seen that they co-operate to drive certain processes such as tumour invasion and migration. Current studies are using increasing complex analytical techniques to tease apart connections between distinct DMG subpopulations, however the physiological relevance of these experimental systems is imperfect due to the challenges in cultivating cell samples under normal laboratory conditions, where the cells tend to sediment instead of forming 3D aggregates. In the present project, the investigators of the ICR wish to use state-of-the-art single cell profiling to explore the spatial interactions between DMG subclones in the unconstrained 3D environment afforded by microgravity. They hypothesise that this will allow to identify novel mechanisms of inter-clonal communication such that disruptor strategies can be designed that may be efficacious for children with these tumours by targeting the most important subpopulations of cells which promote and maintain the tumorigenic phenotype in DMGs.

Kayser Space is the industry partner in charge of all space operations related activities and the design, manufacture and qualification of the bioreactor where the DMC sub-cloned will be cultured. The hardware comprises a culture chamber and reservoirs with pumps providing multiple culture chamber refreshes of different media.