From printing human tissue to drinking water for all: how space exploration helps the future

Hazza Al Mansouri, the first UAE astronaut to travel to space, explained: “The crew of 69 conducted more than 200 scientific experiments and eight spacewalks. The crew carried out many important missions, including the installation of new lightweight solar panels outside the ISS.”

Flight engineer Woody Hoburg explained one of the key experiments conducted by Expedition 69.

“We printed the first section of the human meniscus (a C-shaped piece of cartilage that acts as a cushion between the tibia and the femur), using a type of biological 3D printer. What would normally become a puddle in gravity, in weightlessness we were able to print.”

This means that in the future it might be possible to print heart tissues, the astronaut explained.

“Many of us worked on that experiment, all hands were in the glove box (an area on the space station that allows the crew to safely conduct research in microgravity) and the team on the ground solved a lot of problems. “They helped us find some solutions that ultimately allowed us to be successful.”

“Other experiments included drawing our own blood samples for biological experiments, we received generic training for those skills. We are very committed to obtaining results for the researchers who have worked for many years on these studies. As subjects, we can get tired of taking our own blood samples multiple times, but we focus on doing it correctly,” added flight engineer Stephen Bowen.

He went on to explain that scientific research conducted on space missions has served humanity in many ways, including the field of health and medicine.

It was during these missions, for example, that astronauts understood that there is no magic pill for osteoporosis.

Astronaut Francisco (Frank) Rubio said: “In space, astronauts face a loss of bone density because there is no pressure from constantly standing. During the early years of space exploration, astronauts lost up to 20 percent of bone density. “Now it’s down to five percent.”

Bowen added that these observations about bone density and muscle mass helped researchers understand that “weight-bearing exercises” (for strength training) were the only solution for diseases such as osteoporosis.

Space missions have also managed to achieve a 90 percent water recycling rate, Bowen added.

“It is this technology that provides clean water in countries where there was never clean water,” he said.

For his part, Frank Rubio also stated that although space exploration uses many resources, astronauts understand this and make sure that every minute they spend in space is well spent.

“Everything we do, all the innovation, is for the benefit of humanity. We don’t just represent our respective agencies; we represent the entire world… We take the opportunity to improve the [global] community,” Rubio said.

Speaking about his first mission to space, Emirati astronaut Al Neyadi said: “I am grateful to have been able to represent the UAE and the region in this space mission.

“My mission was the second from the United Arab Emirates (after the Hazza Al Mansouri space flight in 2019). It was the longest Arab mission. “We had teams working tirelessly preparing before the space launch.”

The United Arab Emirates and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center had detailed plans to reach the students, Al Neyadi explained.

“We run many sessions for the public and schools from the ISS. One day Stephen asked me: ‘Do you ever sleep?’

“The main goal was to reach every student in the country,” he added, explaining that he wanted younger generations to understand that space exploration might have been a difficult concept in the ’80s, but that it is possible now.

He also explained how the UAE had invited school students to submit questions for the crew and had organized competitions with university students, challenging five universities to program a robot for the space station.