Melbourne: Scientists in Australia have sent two 10 cm-high "cell hotels" on an international space mission to study how the absence of gravity affects the human gut, potentially transforming health and wellbeing in space and on Earth.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the small "hotel" cubes were among 21 international experiments weighing about 500 kg on a sounding rocket launched by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) from Sweden on Nov. 12. This information was revealed in a Monday news release by Australia's La Trobe University, which designed the miniature laboratories in collaboration with Melbourne engineering firm Enable Aerospace.
La Trobe managed two mini labs on the shuttle, each containing gut cells known as "Gastronauts." These cells were studied before, during, and after the just over 6-minute zero gravity flight at nearly 270 km altitude to understand how the cells adapt in space. This study aims to reveal insights into cell communication, regeneration, and cancer, explained Professor Patrick Humbert, director of the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science.
"If we remove gravity, we can discover why and how gravity is important for health," stated Humbert, who is also the primary investigator of the Gastronauts project. He added that the results could benefit astronaut health and lead to medical advances on Earth.
The small modules took a year to design and test, built to maintain biological samples alive and stable while enduring the launch and re-entry extremes such as vibration and radiation. Researchers noted that each cube housed a cell hotel and a microgravity microscope to capture physiological changes invisible under normal conditions.
This mission provides scientists with valuable information on human gut biology in the space environment. Each experiment is compared to an identical test conducted on the ground, researchers reported.
This flight marked La Trobe's third participation in DLR's MAPHEUS (Material Physics Experiments under Microgravity) program, a high-altitude research initiative ongoing since 2009, according to the release.