The overlap between the space and longevity industriesby Dylan Taylor
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| The challenges and new opportunities for scientific research into aging and longevity in space are moving closer to becoming practical applications. |
Space medicine is a core competency for any human to explore, develop. and, ultimately, live permanently in space. Over the past half century, space health advancements have trickled down to benefit everyday life on Earth. Examples of these innovations include laser angioplasty, voice-controlled wheelchairs, programmable pacemakers, digital imaging biopsy systems, and LED imaging to assist in brain cancer surgery.
Often, research conducted in space that is critical for professional astronauts and, eventually, space tourists to thrive overlaps with longevity research conducted on Earth. Space exploration and the development of a longer, healthy human lifespan is essential to our success when traveling among the stars. The challenges and new opportunities for scientific research into aging and longevity in space are moving closer to becoming practical applications.
Longevity technology
Longevity technologies have come a long way since humans first started exploring space. A Bank of America-Merrill Lynch report predicted that the human longevity market alone will exceed $600 billion in 2025 and coined it “techmanity.” Thus far, longevity technologies like nano-cosmeceuticals, tissue rejuvenation, genomics, AI and big data are all helping to support human longevity. Some research put forth the notion that we could possibly extend the average human lifespan to 120 years.
Earth-based developments have already demonstrated their importance in our quest to understand how humans can survive and thrive in space. Many experts still question whether a three-year roundtrip journey to Mars would be ethically permissible, given our current understanding of human physiology in space and the medical countermeasures to keep the crew healthy in space. Currently, research into astronaut health and human longevity are underway on the International Space Station to find solutions.
When longer trips across our solar system—and perhaps beyond—are contemplated, the lack of adequate biomedical knowledge to assure crew health is clearly lacking. Humans will be far from Earth, in remote and hazardous locations with limited resources. Help from home will not be possible. As is the case with any expedition, they will need to have a boost in overall health maintenance capabilities on board. As missions start to become longer, longevity research will assume a dominant role.
Among the health innovations developed in space to counteract poor health and aging, 3D bioprinting has become a hugely reliable tool. Already on Earth, a variety of technologies are being developed wherein a patient’s cells can be reprogrammed to adopt different functions and then be used to build functional copies of natural tissues and organs. Having fully functional versions of these technologies would greatly enhance the ability to keep crews safe and, in so doing, enhance longevity. Again, such research is already underway in the microgravity conditions encountered on the ISS.
| Many experts still question whether a three-year roundtrip journey to Mars would be ethically permissible, given our current understanding of human physiology in space and the medical countermeasures to keep the crew healthy in space. |
Recently, NASA, along with the Department of Health and Human Services Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), the FDA, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced a multi-agency effort to extend the lifespan of 3D tissue chips up to six months. According to NASA, the goal of the collaboration is to thoroughly understand the disease models, drug development, exposures to chemical and environmental factors, and physiological changes due to the space environment and clinical trial design.
On Earth, the normal aging process involves skin deterioration. Microgravity also often causes various changes to the human body, many of which are similar to the typical aging process on Earth. However, they tend to occur much quicker in microgravity than on Earth. Colgate Skin Aging effectively implements a 3D model of engineered human skin cells to examine the molecular and cellular changes that occur during space flight. Thanks to this research, innovative models may be available to prevent some aging processes from occurring. The study could also help better protect humans from other aging-related problems in wound healing products.
Partnering longevity research with space science
Currently, 55% percent of space medical research is supported by commercial funding. The US is the leader in private space health research. Partnerships between private companies and research aboard the ISS have been increasing. One such partnership involves NASA and The Michael J. Fox Foundation and supports research to determine the structure of the LRRK2 gene through protein crystals developed in space. AngieX is another longevity company developing therapies to target tumor cells and blood vessels in space. Biogen Inc, Eli Lilly, Merck, and 490 Biotech are also advancing space-based life science research.
Major universities and organizations also support studies in longevity-related areas such as biomarkers, radioprotectors, gene therapy and hibernation research. For example, the University of London and the University of Copenhagen are among the many working on gene therapy data. The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the University of Sydney, and the University of Lyon are conducting research into radioprotectors.
Integrating advancements from both industries, SP8CEVC, in partnership with AngelList, is an innovative new rolling fund creating progress in both space technology and human longevity. Their goal is to combine space and longevity advancements to ultimately support the other. Within the space sector, the goal is to focus on space infrastructure and other assets in over 20 sub-verticals. Longevity-based investments focus on organizations that address nine hallmarks of biomarkers, aging and diagnostics.
| The absence of a strong gravity field’s impact upon a variety of chemical and biological processes has yielded insights that we’d have never seen if we did not start to ask “what if?” in space. |
“Space is going to create goods, services, and jobs that will change humanity and our planet for the better,” according to SP8CEVC’s co-founder and Longevity Lead, Junaid Mian, RPh. “However, it’s going to take time to build out this infrastructure. And not only that, as people start to go up to work instead of across to work, space rapidly ages people, and we need to find a way to mitigate that. So we also need to increase healthy human lifespan.”
As has already been demonstrated, Earth- and space-based research activities benefit one another synergistically. Space utilization provides a totally unique environment unavailable on Earth’s surface. The absence of a strong gravity field’s impact upon a variety of chemical and biological processes has yielded insights that we’d have never seen if we did not start to ask “what if?” in space. The collaborations we have seen developing involve all sectors of the biomedical and chemistry sectors. Together they are working to create healthy habitats and medical support for humans on this world and others.
Human longevity advancements on the future horizon of the space economy should not be understated. People need to live and work in space for weeks and months to thrive and perform their experiments for years and, ultimately, decades. The exploration of space is a multigenerational endeavor and we need to start approaching it with human longevity in mind.
Creating newer space stations that build upon decades of prior space station operations will allow greater strides to be made in human health and longevity in space. When we further innovate human longevity science in space, these advancements will continue to trickle down to Earth. Ultimately, we can create an increasingly healthier and more stable society everywhere. Learning how to explore the most distant reaches of space can help us live healthier lives back here on the home planet.
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