Saudi Arabia launches the first biological samples of its kind in the Middle East into space

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The Saudi Space Agency and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) launched the first biological samples of their kind in the Middle East into space, as part of the Biogravity 1 mission within (SpaceX CRS-35) to the International Space Station.

This comes with support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as part of a long-term research program aimed at supporting scientific efforts to combat Alzheimer’s diseases and multiple sclerosis, through a series of three successive missions, in a scientific achievement that strengthens the Kingdom’s presence in microgravity research, and expands the use of space science and technology in the service of health and vital research.

The mission represents the first phase of the program, by sending reference human samples from healthy donors into space, with the aim of establishing a scientific basis for comparison in subsequent stages, and taking advantage of the unique characteristics of the microgravity environment in studying cellular changes associated with aging and neurodegenerative diseases. The biological experiments developed by KAUST include two experiments named SSA-1 and SSA-2.

The program is implemented within an international scientific partnership that brings together the US National Stem Cell Foundation (NSCF) with the support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Axiom Space, in addition to national scientific participation from the Saudi Space Agency and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), in a way that enhances the integration of national capabilities with the global research system. (SPA)

For her part, Saudi astronaut and General Supervisor of Microgravity Research at the Saudi Space Agency, Rayana Barnawi, said: “The launch of these samples represents an important scientific step in the process of employing the space environment to serve human health, and reflects the development of national capabilities and their readiness to participate in advanced research. Through the biogravity program, we seek to transform the knowledge gained in orbit into research opportunities that contribute to deepening the understanding of diseases and supporting the development of future therapeutic solutions.”

For his part, Professor of Biosciences at KAUST and the lead scientist for the project, Professor Imad Gholuzi, confirmed that the mission allows researchers to test disease models in an environment that cannot be simulated on Earth, and enhances the university’s contribution to discoveries that serve patients in the Kingdom and the world.

In turn, Dr. Pinar Messi, Scientific Advisor to the US National Stem Cell Foundation and Global Head of Biomanufacturing and Biotechnology at Axiom Space, said: “I am particularly excited about this mission,” as the US National Stem Cell Foundation team will test, for the first time in a microgravity environment, the concept of the “Brain Organoid Village.”

The concept of integrating several individual cell lines into a single organelle allows for studies to be conducted at the level of population groups, with the possibility of implementing what can be described as “clinical experiments in a laboratory dish.” This mission included samples from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as part of cooperation with the Saudi Space Agency and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

The program extends across three interconnected research missions, starting with a mission to study healthy reference samples, followed by the second mission to study models derived from patients with Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis, and ending with the third mission, which focuses on studying therapeutic response and exploring potential drug targets in a microgravity environment.

The “Biogravity” program is part of the Saudi Space Agency’s efforts to build national capabilities in microgravity and life sciences research, expand international scientific partnerships, and employ space science and technology to serve human health, which contributes to enhancing the knowledge economy, innovation, and quality of life, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.