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(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) Space Biotech

(DECEMBER-2024)

ISRO and Department of Biotechnology to work together on space biotech which will later be integrated with Bharatiya Antariksh Station.

The two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding for long term collaboration on space biotechnology.

To advance India’s space and biotechnology sectors, and position the country as a leader in global space research.

From checking whether supplements can prevent muscle loss in microgravity to impact of microgravity on edible algae, and the growth of cyanobacteria in urea in space — these are among the potential studies that will come out of the collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
The collaboration will focus on microgravity experiments, space biomanufacturing, and bioastronautics.

The collaboration may result in establishing laboratories on different aspects of space biotechnology or developing instruments that can be used in space.

Experiments without Human intervention: The collaboration will help in developing experiments that can be conducted without human intervention for the first three unmanned spaceflight under Gaganyaan mission and then some where human intervention will be necessary for the first human spaceflight.
Space cultivation: The experiment will help the researchers select the most robust species of microalgae for future cultivation in space.
Supplement use for Astronauts: Research on supplements to prevent muscle loss in space, astronauts experience up to 20% muscle loss in 5 to 11 day long spaceflight — could also potentially help in treating sarcopoenia — an age-related condition that results in loss of muscle mass and strength.
Long term objective: This long term collaboration has become essential with the Indian Space Research Organisation now entering the domain of sustained human spaceflight, with the aim of setting up a space station by 2035.

Microgravity is a unique environment where the effects of gravity are reduced or removed. This environment is created in freefall.
Microgravity is very important in the study of Space Science because the processes and phenomena normally hidden by dominant gravitational effects become more easily observable.
An example of a physical science experiment in freefall is the study of how a liquid occupies a partially filled container: on the ground, a liquid tends to pool at the bottom of its container, but in microgravity the liquid can behave strangely and may occupy both ends of its container with a void in the middle.

Over the last decade, the International Space Station National Laboratory (ISS National Lab) has supported space-based studies in the areas of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
This initial research and development have provided important insights into how microgravity can be leveraged to advance biomanufacturing in space to benefit human life and commercial enterprise on Earth.
Microgravity induces changes in bodily systems that result in effects including cardiovascular deconditioning, skeletal muscle atrophy, bone loss, and immune dysfunction, among others .
These effects mimic the onset of health-related outcomes associated with aging and chronic human disease but at an accelerated rate. Such effects that could take years to manifest on Earth may develop in weeks in microgravity.
While these changes are a concern for keeping astronauts safe on long-duration spaceflight, they also present an opportunity to study aging, disease progression, and test therapeutics on an accelerated timescale.

Bioastronautics is a specialty area of biological and astronautical research which encompasses numerous aspects of biological, behavioral, and medical concern governing humans and other living organisms in outer space.
It also includes the design of space vehicle payloads, space habitats, and life-support systems.
In short, it spans the study and support of life in space.