Call for Proposals: Commercial Cargo Transportation Service (closed)
ESA is looking for the European companies that can establish Competitive Commercial Cargo Transportation Services to go to the International Space Station, as well as future commercial low Earth orbit destinations.
The Call for Commercial Cargo Transportation is now open. The initiative provides a partnership/support scheme, whereby private companies receive support from ESA for the development of commercial cargo transportation services to human outposts in low Earth orbit.
The final goal of the Commercial Cargo Transportation Initiative is to execute a demonstration mission delivering a minimum of 2 tonnes of cargo to the International Space Station, as well as returning a minimum of 1 tonne back to Earth before the end of 2028. If successful, ESA may follow up the initiative with actual service contracts.
Send your outline proposal to the Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration before 29 June 2023 at 23:59 CEST
Timeline
Phase 1.1
Advance the cargo delivery services
Call for Proposals open to Tenderers residing in any of the Participating States of the European Exploration Envelope Programme (E3P)
- Complete preliminary design
- Secure third-party funding
Phase 1.2
Further develop the cargo delivery services
The Phase 1.2 will be open to companies that have previously successfully completed the Phase 1.1
- De-risk the most critical areas
- Secure third-party funding
Phase 2
Demonstrate cargo delivery services
Invitation to Tender (ITT) in Open Competition. This phase will be open to all companies, not just those that participated in Phase 1.
- Final steps leading to the Demonstration Flight
For Phase 1.1, ESA will select up to 2 companies.
ESA has allocated a total of €2 million for the execution of the Phase 1.1. The financial volumes associated with subsequent phases (i.e. Phase 1-2 and 2) will be defined at a later stage, taking into account the information acquired during Phase 1-1.
What does ESA offer?
Co-funding without the acquisition of equity
Access to ESA technical expertise
Links to other relevant projects
Networking with potential investors
Can you develop a Commercial Cargo Transportation Service?
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Join our webinar on 15 June from 10:00 CEST
Can you develop a Commercial Cargo Transportation Service? Join the event to ask your questions to our panel of experts.
Kirara 4 Commercial Project on the ISS
The fourth commercial Kirara project is currently hosted inside the Facility of the ICE Cubes Service on the International Space Station (ISS) by our commercial Partner Space Applications Services.
Kirara is a reusable incubator for protein crystallisation that was developed by JAMSS (the Japan Manned Space Systems Corporation). A wide range of samples have been accommodated on the previous 3 Kirara missions flown since 2019.
The Kirara 4 project was launched with the 27th commercial resupply mission of SpaceX (SpX CRS-27) on 15/03/2023 to the ISS.
What is Kirara 4?
This Kirara #4 cube is hosting a number of different samples and projects from 10 clients coming from 3 countries: Hungary, Japan and Korea.
Space for Drug Discovery Research
InnoStudio from Hungary is reflying its covid-19 research to validate the breakthrough results it has had in 2 past Kirara missions.
Space for Academic Research
Different universities have sent samples to conduct their own research in the Kirara Cube:
- The Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences Faculty of Agriculture, The University of Tokyo
- Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University
- Nagoya City University
- Shizuoka University
- Osaka University
Space for Education Projects
The AgriFood company Tanagy Sangyo Co Ltd and the Higashihonmachi Elementary School will send sample of rice seeds to develop children interest in space and agriculture. This project is called the “Kome Tane Space Project 2022-2023“
JAMS and the Nippon Travel Agency Co Ltd are hosting the “Space Science Lab – Challenge to make crystals in the real space! ～”. The high school students have studied the space conditions that will lead their samples to become “larger and more beautiful crystals”.
Space for Inspiring Projects
SoraDayori Studio sent a gold leaf and a SD card containing messages from Space Agencies and Space Business Representatives from Asian countries, with wishes for world peace, love and prosperity, to support the recovery after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
ESA supports commercial activities on the ISS that generate benefits for humanity, such as economic, scientific, educational and inspirational benefits.
Read the Kirara 4 Press Release from JAMSS.
Who will deliver Lunar Pathfinder to the Moon orbit?
ESA’s commercial partner SSTL 1st commercial lunar comms satellite Lunar Pathfinder will be delivered to the Moon orbit by NASA.
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd SSTL has invested in the development of the 1st European commercial lunar relay communication satellite Lunar Pathfinder in partnership with ESA. It will provide lunar communications services for its planned 8 years lifetime, laying the foundations for ESA’s Moonlight constellation. ESA will act as an anchor customer for the service, enabling polar and far-side missions to the Moon. The Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft is due to launch to its targeted lunar orbit in 2026.
The Lunar Pathfinder service launch is enabled by an ESA-NASA collaboration. Through the Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) CS-3 task order, NASA has selected the US commercial provider, Firefly Aerospace of Cedar Park, Texas, that will transport the Lunar Pathfinder to the required Lunar Orbit.
The Lunar Pathfinder services will become operational right after launch in 2026, supporting the CS-3 mission. After this initial mission, the Lunar Pathfinder services will be available for ESA and NASA, as well as any other commercial lunar users, on a commercial basis.
The selection of the commercial lunar delivery provider is a key milestones towards the concretisation of an intensive international collaboration. ESA will continue to support the activities leading up to launch, supporting SSTL’s development of Lunar Pathfinder.
The CS-3 mission will deliver 3 payloads:
Lunar Pathfinder
The Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft is designed to provide affordable communication relay services to lunar missions via S-band and UHF links to lunar assets on the surface and in orbit around the Moon, and an X-band link to Earth. It also hosts payload such as lunar navigation experiments and a radiation monitor - important for human explorers.
Target: Lunar Frozen Orbit
Partners: Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd SSTL & ESA
LuSEE-Night
The Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night payload will study the Moon’s radio environment and potentially take a first look at a previously unobserved era in our cosmic history.
Target: Shielded Zone of the Moon (SZM) – The far side of the Moon surface
Partners: Collaboration between the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, the University of California, Berkeley, Space Science Laboratory, and NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Managed for NASA by the Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
User Terminal
The User Terminal payload will be used to commission the Lunar Pathfinder and ensure its readiness to provide communications service to LuSEE-Night.
Target: Lunar Frozen Orbit
Partners: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Read the NASA press release.
What do the team say about the project?
“ ESA is looking forward to working with NASA and Firefly to make this mission a success and demonstrate the strength of combining international cooperation and commercial procurement approaches for accelerating the development of a lunar economy. “
Bernhard Hufenbach
Commercialisation & Innovation Team Leader
European Space Agency (ESA)
” ESA is pleased to welcome Firefly as the final piece of the puzzle in this challenging endeavour! We look forward to working with them, NASA, SSTL and all the other involved stakeholders to make this mission a resounding success very soon. “
Brice Dellandrea
Lunar Pathfinder System Engineer
European Space Agency (ESA)
Lunar Pathfinder Status
Lunar Pathfinder is a first step towards ESA’s ambitious Moonlight initiative to create a network of communications and data relay satellites serving users worldwide. Such satellites could also provide navigation data for lunar exploration, just as today we navigate using Galileo and GPS on Earth.
Lunar Pathfinder has started its System Critical Design Review (CDR) process and will soon reach the Key Performance Gate 3 enabling the thorough review of the detailed design of the communication service.
Maleth III – Maltese Experiment ready for the ISS
The third commercial research project from Spaceomix, Maleth-III, is now ready to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) with SpaceX CRS-27 later this month. It will then be hosted on our commercial partner Space Applications Services platform the ICE Cubes Service.
This cube will be installed by the astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi from the United Arab Emirates.
What is project Maleth?
Project Maleth is led by Professor Joseph Borg, a molecular geneticist and biomedical laboratory scientist from the University of Malta.
2 experiments have already been conducted on the ISS and enabled by the ICE Cubes service, the commercial service provider in partnership with ESA.
In 2021, Project Maleth, the first ever Maltese space mission, sent skin samples from patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) to be cultured on the ISS.
In 2022, Maleth II flew to the same space laboratory to follow up on the first research results and conduct additional studies on yeast cells to observe how they would react to the space environment.
This time, the Maleth III will consist in another follow up research on the diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) experiment. This time the samples (human skin tissue and microbiome) are coming from three diabetic patients from the Saudi hospital King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre and three normal controls from Malta.
Maleth III will also sequence the full genomes of human DNA and microbes in partnership with Weill Cornell Medicine.
Who is involved in the Maleth III project?
Ms Christine Gatt’s doctoral program is funded by The Malta Tertiary Education Scholarship Scheme (TESS).
Maleth Program is supported by the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs (MFEA), Government of Malta; the Parliamentary Secretary for Youths, Research and Innovation, Ministry of Education, Malta; University of Malta and the Research Innovation Development Trust Foundation (RIDT); Evolve Ltd; MeDirect Bank Malta; Singleron Biotechnologies Cologne, Germany; Metavisionaries Oxford UK; King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; MCAST and MG2i Malta; Space Application Services, Brussels, Belgium and Weill Cornell Medicine, NY, USA.
Why do research in space?
Microgravity frequently has innovative and beneficial effects on all biological organization levels, including cells, tissues, organs, and organisms. In some cases, these effects help solve medical, biotechnological, and other issues on Earth. We can produce drugs, materials, and living tissue in microgravity, which is impossible in Earth’s 1g gravity setting.
Microgravity, high radiation, and access to the space environment all combine to offer a singular opportunity for the study of various biological experiments and basic biomedical science problems, which may then have consequences for actual clinical issues back on Earth.
Maleth III - Video
Maleth III - Preparation Pictures
Maleth III - Conference
Maleth was represented at the SPACE OPS 2023 conference in Dubai in March 2023 by Professor Joseph Borg.
ESA enters into Pilot Phase with the Exploration Company
The Exploration Company applied to explore the potential for collaboration on post-ISS (post-International Space Station decommissioning) commercial Low Earth Orbit services and related capabilities.
After evaluation of the company’s proposal and in the context of the ESA Terrae Novae 2030+strategy roadmap for space exploration which sets the following goal for Low Earth Orbit:
Ensure continuity in LEO by ensuring a continued presence on the ISS until its decommissioning and preparing for post-ISS service-based commercial LEO infrastructures as a primary destination for scientific research and deep space exploration preparation
The project has been selected to enter into a Pilot Phase – Assessment of Private Reusable LEO Capsule for Europe from 2026+.
Nyx Earth - a private reusable LEO Capsule for Europe from 2026
— The Exploration Company GmbH (Germany) & The Exploration Company SASU (France)
The vehicle is envisaged to orbit for up to 6 months before returning to Earth and be reused. The planned capability enables LEO cargo delivery as well as services like high-quality microgravity research and technology demonstrations.
The Nyx capsule demo “Mission Possible” is planned to be launched in 2024.
What is the Pilot Phase?
The Pilot Phase will be jointly conducted by ESA and the Exploration Company. It aims at assessing the following elements of the Private Reusable LEO Capsule:
- Technical Maturity
- Business Maturity
- Utilisation Opportunities
- Socio-economic Impact
The successful completion of the Pilot Phase will inform options for ESA follow-on activities.
Can you create the constellation of lunar satellites? (closed)
The Moonlight Programme supports the development of Lunar Communication and Navigation Services to support Moon Exploration.
Companies in Europe and Canada are asked to express their interest in offering Lunar Communications and Navigation Services to enable sustainable lunar exploration. The ESA is seeking organizations that intend to develop the constellation of lunar satellites or to provide products and technology that are relevant to it.
This Request for Information (RFI) for the Moonlight programme preparation of the ESA Ministerial Council of Nov 2022 is articulated around the two main categories of activities:
- Category 1 those related to the Private-Public Partnership (PPP) project including all activities required for the full development of the infrastructure needed as well as for the Service provision,
- Category 2 those related more generically to Technologies and Product activities.
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Take part in the dynamic Lunar Economy. Northern Sky Research’s market analysis predicts that the lunar economy will generate €100 billion, resulting in the creation of jobs and prosperity on Earth.
More than 250 lunar missions are planned for the coming ten years. Transportation, communications, and navigation capabilities are needed for every mission.
You can participate in the Moonlight Programme and become a part of the developing Lunar economy.
The Moonlight Initiative
This Request For Information (RFI) is part of the Moonlight initiative.
The Moonlight Programme is proposing the development of new Communications (Coms) and Navigation (Nav) services around the Moon. The approach relies on a public-private partnership model (PPP), involving the private sector playing a prominent role in developing and operating the system, as well as providing Coms and Nav functions as services on and around the Moon on a commercial basis. The focus is therefore on the Services to be delivered to the Agency, its partner Agencies and any third-party entities willing to procure those services
Moonlight will be part of the ESA proposals due to be approved and funded at the ESA Council of Ministers (CM22) in November.
Get to know more about the Moonlight programme by watching this Industry Space Days Talk given on 29 September.
BSGN Calls for Proposals (Closed)
The 3 BSGN Industry Accelerators opened their calls for proposals.
The BSGN Industry Accelerators are run by Industrial Partners. They connect European Industry to new Business Opportunities. They are calling for research and development projects benefiting from the space environment vantage points.
In the International Space Station, there is no gravity. Under microgravity, crystals grow at higher fidelity which allows for more uniform growth of microstructures such as crystals.
There is no buoyancy in space, matters can be mixed evenly no matter their density due to the impaired phase separation process.
To participate prepare your project proposal and submit it to the right call. If you are selected, the BSGN Industry Accelerator will provide you with technical and business support and funding for your project to take off the ground and travel to the International Space Station.
Life sciences
The BSGN Life Sciences Accelerator led by MEDES is looking for your project proposals related to antibodies, therapeutics molecules and proteins, gene therapy vectors, cell therapied, vaccines. These are examples of areas, the call is not limited to the ones mentioned above.
Apply here
Where can you meet?
Webinar 27 Oct From 11:30 to 12:30 CEST – BSGN Life Science open call for proposals | Informational Webinar. Watch the recording
Agriculture & Food
The BSGN Agriculture & Food Accelerator is led by the Space Cooperative Europe and is looking for proposals increasing crops yields, monitoring techniques, plant microbes and food optimization and formulation. These are examples of areas, the call is not limited to the ones mentioned above.
This Call is now closed.
You can join the Agrifood community platform to stay updated of new calls: BSGN AgriFood Community / Registration Form (spacecoop.eu)
Where can you meet?
There was a webinar on 13 Oct. You can watch the recording here.
Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
The BSGN Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Accelerator led by Catapult Satellite Applications is looking for project proposals in improving formulation, improving deposition. and advance materials These are examples of areas, the call is not limited to the ones mentioned above.
Apply here
Where can you meet?
Workshop 17 Oct From 10:30 to 13:30 CEST – BSGN Advanced Materials Accelerator: deep-dive into microgravity-enabled opportunities for advanced materials Watch the recording
BSGN is carried out under a programme of and funded by ESA, the European Space Agency.
Lunar Economy S4I Workshop Summary
What is the Lunar economy?
There has been continuous human presence in Low Earth Orbit for more than 20 years now, but not one human beyond that line since 1972. So first, with all the emphasis we place today on commercial objectives, should not forget what we are: pioneers, who venture beyond the boundaries of the ultimate frontier: space.
We shouldn’t forget that there is something, one may even call poetic about building an economy, which is to make something anew, it’s about creating a living ecosystem.
We, collectively, are the lunar economy: space agencies, private companies, universities and students, space enthusiasts. Working together and challenging each other.
An economy is about exchanges, relationships, it’s about learning how to work together, across different nations, cultures and languages. It’s about making things that are useful for others, because nobody can make a business without making something that is needed. An economy is about solving problems and the lunar economy is not different in this respect. Its challenges are sure quite difficult, some barriers are higher, but by exercising our collective capability to solve these challenges we will make the lunar economy a reality. And more: this effort towards the lunar economy can be an international sandbox for human ingenuity.
The challenges we face to explore the Moon and to make our presence on the Moon long-lasting this time, will be invaluable fuel for innovation and imagination. And God we need all our innovation and imagination, and courage, to reboot planet Earth and all our society as we know it, to solve the challenges of our times, of which climate change is just one of its names. So, to kickstart this lunar workshop, I would like to make a wish, that we keep this thought with us while we are building the lunar economy:
Every time we do something new, we have the opportunity to make it better.
Let’s make it count!
What took place in the workshop:
Workshop organised by
The Lunar Economy Workshop held during the Space for Inspiration conference was an opportunity to take stock of the current status of development of the lunar economy.
17 different entities took active part in the workshop, ranging from Space Agency (NASA), to commercial companies, small and large, start-ups, non-for-profit entities and academic organisations.
The collectively represent the diverse community that is working on the development of the lunar economy.
We celebrated the success story of the Lunar Pathfinder services, the first lunar communication relay services set to be launched in 2025 thanks to the commercial partnership between ESA and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) and enabled by NASA, who will provide a rideshare for the Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft to reach the designated orbit.
Lunar Pathfinder: A successful partnership for a successful launch
Presentations given during the workshop:
We heard from the best ideas awarded for the Lunar Communication and Navigation Services (LCNS) Call for ideas and use cases:
Pitch 1: Open Lunar Foundation
Pitch 1: Open Lunar Foundation
Pitch 1: Open Lunar Foundation
Pitch 1: Open Lunar Foundation
Pitch 2: ROSLight
Pitch 2: ROSLight
Pitch 3: SPACECLICK (LUNARS)
Pitch 3: SPACECLICK (LUNARS)
Pitch 3: SPACECLICK (LUNARS)
Pitch 5: SPARTAN Space
Pitch 5: SPARTAN Space
Pitch 5: SPARTAN Space
Pitch 5: SPARTAN Space
Pitch 6: CGI (MoonMap)
Pitch 6: CGI (MoonMap)
Pitch 6: CGI (MoonMap)
Pitch 6: CGI (MoonMap)
Pitch 6: CGI (MoonMap)
Pitch 7: CGI (Moon Cloud)
Pitch 7: CGI (Moon Cloud)
Pitch 7: CGI (Moon Cloud)
Pitch 7: CGI (Moon Cloud)
Pitch 7: CGI (Moon Cloud)
Pitch 8: Io Team
Pitch 8: Io Team
Pitch 8: Io Team
Pitch 8: Io Team
We learned more from the potential lunar payload delivery services in Europe:
Service 1: OHB
Service 1: OHB
Service 1: OHB
Service 1: OHB
Service 1: OHB
Service 2: ispace Europe
Service 2: ispace Europe
Service 2: ispace Europe
Service 2: ispace Europe
Service 2: ispace Europe
Service 2: ispace Europe
Service 3: Lunar Logistics Services (LLS) and Astrobotic
Service 3: Lunar Logistics Services (LLS) and Astrobotic
Service 3: Lunar Logistics Services (LLS) and Astrobotic
Service 3: Lunar Logistics Services (LLS) and Astrobotic
Service 3: Lunar Logistics Services (LLS) and Astrobotic
Service 3: Lunar Logistics Services (LLS) and Astrobotic
Service 3: Lunar Logistics Services (LLS) and Astrobotic
Service 4: Space Applications and Intuitive Machines
Service 4: Space Applications and Intuitive Machines
Service 4: Space Applications and Intuitive Machines
Service 4: Space Applications and Intuitive Machines
Service 4: Space Applications and Intuitive Machines
Service 4: Space Applications and Intuitive Machines
Service 4: Space Applications and Intuitive Machines
Service 4: Space Applications and Intuitive Machines
Service 4: Space Applications and Intuitive Machines
Service 5: The Exploration Company
Service 5: The Exploration Company
Service 5: The Exploration Company
Service 5: The Exploration Company
Service 5: The Exploration Company
Service 5: The Exploration Company
Service 5: The Exploration Company
Service 5: The Exploration Company
Service 5: The Exploration Company
Service 5: The Exploration Company
We shared the news about the next steps for the winners of the ESA Lunar Robotic Challenge:
Finally, a panel discussion.
We hosted a final panel discussion on the future perspectives of the lunar economy with:
DO YOU WANT TO TAKE YOUR IDEA TO SPACE?
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The 'Space for Inspiration' Event
The event took place on 12th – 13th July 2022, gathering over 300+ participants, both physically and online.
Participants from all areas of the space sector came together to shape the future of commercial space exploration.
There were 2 days of inspiring talks, engaging roundtable discussions and interactive workshops with the aim to:
- Learn more about commercialisation initiatives
- Discover new opportunities to grow their businesses
- Shape the LEO and Lunar Economy
- Develop new partnerships with European and international partners
- Network with key players in the space industry
- Meet ESA’s Commercial Partners and the BSGN Industry Accelerators
In Orbit Service Manufacturing: Workshop Summary
What took place in the workshop:
Workshop organised by our event partner
The In-Orbit Service Manufacturing (IOSM) Workshop during the Space for Inspiration conference and in partnership with the Satellite Applications Catapult was focused on developing an understanding of what in-orbit servicing and manufacturing is, definition of what it embraces and what it doesn’t and crucially what ambition that Europe has.
26 participants represented the breadth of industry, academic and government organisations joined the workshop with additional speakers drawn from ESA to present the state of the art in additive manufacturing and associated technologies. The Catapult presented their assessment of the key challenges that IOSM presents, and an extended discussion was held both on the nomenclature used for what we call IOSM, and then further dove into topics such as what elements should or shouldn’t be included; a hot topic was whether the term in-orbit was the appropriate term for technologies and processes which may be performed on asteroids and planetary surfaces.
The outputs and outcomes were captured during the session and will be disseminated back to both the participants of this workshop as well as those who attend the Space for Inspiration event as a summary document. The future aim is to look to establish a pan-European working group to further define with space manufacturing and servicing is, what is needed to position Europe as a leader in the definition of standards and processes, and promote the capabilities the technologies that ESA members can offer.
Presentations given in this workshop:
DO YOU WANT TO TAKE YOUR IDEA TO SPACE?
Learn more about what you can do with Advanced Materials and Manufacturing in space
Find the right partner to fly your project to space
Contact our BSGN Industry Accelerator ambassador to find how to launch your project to space
The 'Space for Inspiration' Event
The event took place on 12th – 13th July 2022, gathering over 300+ participants, both physically and online.
Participants from all areas of the space sector came together to shape the future of commercial space exploration.
There were 2 days of inspiring talks, engaging roundtable discussions and interactive workshops with the aim to:
- Learn more about commercialisation initiatives
- Discover new opportunities to grow their businesses
- Shape the LEO and Lunar Economy
- Develop new partnerships with European and international partners
- Network with key players in the space industry
- Meet ESA’s Commercial Partners and the BSGN Industry Accelerators
Maleth II – Malta’s second research mission to space with ICE Cubes
In 2021 Project Maleth, the first ever Maltese space mission, sent skin samples from patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) to be cultured on the International Space Station (ISS). Now, Maleth II is on its way to follow up on these results on its second research mission to space. Enabled by the ICE Cubes service, commercial service provider in partnership with ESA, the mission is intended to replicate and validate the observations of the Maleth I mission, as well as conduct additional studies of its own.
What's project Maleth?
Project Maleth is led by Professor Joseph Borg, a molecular geneticist and biomedical laboratory scientist from the University of Malta. The project focuses on research to improve precision-based medicine at treating Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFUs) more efficiently. The research involves studying human skin microbiome samples from Type 2 diabetic patients with DFUs that are resistant to treatment. Microbiome is the collective term for all microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, that live in the human body or on the human skin.
Microgravity and the harsh conditions of space provide a unique opportunity to better study the resistance of such microorganisms, which is why the researchers wanted to send these samples to space, more specifically, the International Space Station (ISS) through the ICE Cubes Service. Project Maleth’s first mission to the ISS, and Malta’s first ever mission to space, was Maleth I. Six skin samples were sent to determine the effects of spaceflight on the skin microbiome of DFUs, and their resistance to harsh environments.
Following the successful return and analysis of the samples from Maleth I, whose results are to be published by the end of the year, Project Maleth is now sending a second follow-up mission to the ISS, Maleth II. Maleth II is intended to replicate and validate the observations made in Maleth I, sending once again microbiome samples from patients with DFUs. However, this time, Yeast cell samples are also on their way to the ISS for additional research.
Why do research in space?
All levels of biological organisation, including cells, tissues, organs, and organisms, are affected by microgravity often in novel and useful ways, sometimes in ways that allow medical, biotech and other problems on Earth to be better addressed. The benefits of microgravity allow us to manufacture medicines, materials and living tissue that cannot be done in Earth’s 1g gravity environment.
Access to the space environment, microgravity, and high radiation create a unique opportunity to study various biology experiments and fundamental biomedical science questions that in turn can have implications to real-world clinical problems back on Earth.
What does the Maleth II mission entail?
Maleth II, or the Follow-up Study of Human Skin Tissue Microbiome Studies and Yeast Cells in Space, continues the investigation from Maleth I, which sent skin microbiome samples from selected Type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) that are resistant to treatment, to be studied aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The intent of Maleth II is to determine the degree of replicability observed when compared to the previous Maleth I mission.
Skin samples from patients with DFU resistant to treatment were sent to the ISS. The samples are cultured on both ground-based (analogue) and space-based conditions, to investigate how they adapt and change according to their environment. The overall specific aim of the research is still to determine the full microbiome profile of DFUs in Malta. Therefore, upon return to Earth, all samples will be analysed using next generation metagenomic sequencing (where the bacterial and host genes are sequenced) and metabolomic analysis (where the substances of bacterial metabolism are identified), conducted on both ground-based and space-based samples.
The results are then compared to those of a conventional bacteria culture, in order to determine the different types of bacteria that are present in infected ulcers, and their resistance to their environment, including antibiotic resistance.
Yeast cells as an additional research study
In addition to the skin samples, Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) cell samples will also be sent to the ISS for a separate study.
“Yeast cells are a logical next step in this space research”, Professor Borg says.
Yeast cells are different from bacteria in that they are “eukaryotes”, the same type of cells that humans are made of with DNA packaged as chromosomes and inside a true nucleus, which is why they make for an exciting next step in research.
The aim of this pioneering research is to observe how the cells will react to the space environment. Every single cell will undergo genetic sequencing, and the results will be compared between space samples from Day 1, space samples from Day 60, and samples that were cultured on Earth. Single cell sequencing provides significant resolution like no other tool to date, and being able to identify changes at a single cell level is a truly innovative way of doing science and understanding the genetic basis of life.
What's the significance of the Maleth II research?
The aim is to better understand how these treatment resistant ulcers behave and how to better treat them. It has been shown in previous studies that the space environment instigates bacterial resistance to antibiotics. A lot is still not known about how bacteria acquire resistance and studying these bacteria in space coupled with genetic sequencing may help us better understand the mechanisms behind the development of resistance. Furthermore, other bacteria may be present which might not allow the proper healing of these ulcers. By identifying all of the bacteria present, one can determine if there are microorganisms that can be predictors of prognosis. Finally, the microbiome of healed ulcers can be compared to those that didn’t heal, giving an indication of which bacteria may be involved with chronicity.
Proiect Maleth aims to identify biomarkers (such as mRNA, a small single stranded piece of DNA) that could potentially be targeted for better management and treatment of patients, improving laboratory and healthcare services directly effecting the quality of life of Maltese diabetic patients and their families.
All data is deposited as part of NASA’s Gene Lab database, an open access analysis platform for bioscience research, which maximises the use of its data worldwide.
Space applications:
Identifying biomarkers present in the human skin microbiome can be used for potential targeted therapy in space missions, enhancing space travel of future astronauts going on deeper missions to the moon and Mars. The behaviour and relationship between oral, gut and skin microbiomes needs to be better understood under space conditions, to ensure the viability and success of future space missions to low Earth orbit and beyond.
Earth applications:
This project, holds a lot of promise to the benefit of patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus inflicted with Diabetic Foot Ulcers that are difficult to treat. If a number of biomarkers are identified using this approach, it can be a game changer for molecular therapy and precision based medicine aimed at treating these ulcers, and ensure a better quality of life to the patients and to their families.
Moreover, being Malta’s first biomedical science experiment to orbit, the project helps raise local awareness on important topics related to Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM), jointly with Esplora and the Malta Council for Science and Technology, as well as primary and secondary schools of Malta.
Improvements of Maleth II
Maleth II contains not only technical replicates (I.e. replicas of the same type of sample), but also biological replicates (I.e. replicas from different time points, as it is the second time that this same study is being done in space). Biological replicates serve to demonstrate whether the results from the first experiment can be faithfully reproduced in follow-up experiments. If this is the case, researchers can then be much more confident of the results achieved.
Maleth II will also have additional metagenomics sequencing.
How is the experiment carried out in the ISS?
The experiment is enclosed in the ScienceCube, developed by the ICE Cubes service provided by Space Applications Services. The cube is housed in the ICE Cubes facility inside the Columbus module in the ISS, which is operated by the European Space Agency (ESA). When installed in the ICE Cubes facility, the ScienceCube will be powered and real-time interaction becomes possible, allowing also to follow onboard imagery directly. This is one of the unique features provided by the ICE Cubes service.
The cube for Maleth II has an aluminium outer structure, as opposed to a plastic one as it was for Maleth I, ensuring a more robust housing for the experiment. The electronic internals were kept almost identical to those in Maleth I, apart from an upgraded onboard computer and control software.
What happens inside the cube?
The ScienceCube includes five independent human skin tissue samples containing their own unique microbiome, as well as one Bakers’ yeast sample, in lyophilized format. The human skin tissue samples are suspended in Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) solution that is known (and has been tested) to maintain both human skin intact, and most importantly the microbiome, alive and well in suspension. The investigation is observed using the onboard cameras that overlook the cuvettes/samples inside the ScienceCube. All molecular work planned is only conducted before and after spaceflight (on sample return, approximately after 45 to 50 days on the space station).
Data connectivity and sample monitoring of the ScienceCube is made possible through data links as supplied by the ICE Cubes service and relayed to the Mission Control Centre set up in Malta managed by Arkafort Ltd.. The cube’s onboard computer is a Raspberry Pi, running a Linux OS along with some proprietary control software that allows for its remote operation.
How and when will Maleth II launch?
(Updated): After a couple of delays, the experiment was successfully launched on15th July 2022. The rocket that carried the experiment was SpaceX CRS-25 (Cargo Dragon). The cube flies back to Earth on 18th August 2022.
Watch ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti installing the cube on the International Space Station (ISS):
Why use ICE Cubes?
In an interview with Dr. Hilde Stenuit, from the ICE Cubes Business Development Team, we asked why ICE Cubes is the best platform for this kind of research.
“Two reasons. The first is the ICE Cubes real-time interaction capability and real-time monitoring. Professor Borg and his team can have access to what’s happening inside the ScienceCube at all times. The second is the fast track aspect of the ICE Cubes service. For Maleth I, it took less than 11 months between first contact and the samples being back from Space on Earth for analysis.”
The ICE Cubes service is open to applications for both research as well as commercial use. You can learn more about it here: Services – ICE Cubes (icecubesservice.com).
Who supports this project?
Maleth II is supported by the Ministries for Foreign and European Affairs, as well as the Parliamentary Secretary Hon. Keith Tanti for Youth, Research and Innovation under the Ministry for Education, Malta. Moreover, this launch is being supported by the private sector that includes MeDirect – Malta’s first digital Bank and Singleron Biotechnologies, Cologne, Germany. The mission is being facilitated by the Research Innovation, Development Trust (RIDT) who will be supporting a PhD candidate, Ms Christina Gatt, and other students at the University of Malta as well as all the science being conducted in this second mission.
Arkafort Ltd. will manage the mission control centre and link-up directly with the ICE Cubes platform managed by Space Applications Services in the Columbus Module of the ISS.
The mission is enabled by ESA through the ISS commercial partnership initiative, which facilitates access to exploration infrastructure to private companies such as Space Application Services.
Follow BSGN’s linked-in page to stay tuned on similar news like this:
ESA Business in Space Growth Network (BSGN)
Follow the pre-launch event for SpaceX CRS-25 rocket:
https://www.spacex.com/launches/crs-25/
Learn more about Maleth I mission details:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=8619
All images provided by Professor Borg