Can 3D bioprinting be a key for exploratory missions and human settlements on the Moon and Mars?

Abstract

Fifty years after the first human landed on the Moon mankind has started to plan next steps for manned space exploration missions. The international space agencies have begun to investigate the requirements for both a human settlement on the Moon and manned missions to Mars. For such activities significantly improved medical treatment facilities on-board the spacecrafts or within the extraterrestrial settlements need to be provided as no fast return opportunities to Earth would exist anymore in case of severe trauma or illness. Bioprinting is believed to play a significant role as it could offer the possibilities to produce patient-specific tissue constructs in a semi-automated manner. Therefore, both the space agencies and the bioprinting community have started to study possible applications of bioprinting technologies in space. Besides utilisation of bioprinted tissue constructs for the treatment of injured astronauts bioprinting will become relevant for the fabrication of three-dimensional tissue models for basic research, e.g. concerning effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation on cells and tissues. This perspective article describes the current state of the art including medical scenarios for new far-distant space exploration missions, first approaches towards establishment of bioprinters in space and which limitations have to be resolved to use bioprinting under the specific conditions of space flight like altered gravity conditions.

Wound and Skin Healing in Space: The 3D Bioprinting Perspective

“…In addition, in extrusion BP more viscous bioinks can be utilized compared to inkjet BP that would present higher stability while printing in microgravity and for the post-printing process steps. Finally, such pasty cell-laden bioinks can be designed to be quite sticky which would facilitate the layer-by-layer assembly process under microgravity conditions and also allows in situ BP applications, i.e., direct deposition of such bioinks onto skin wounds ( Cubo-Mateo et al, 2020 ).…”

“…While it is already widely accepted that additive manufacturing using nonbiological materials will play a crucial role in the further development of space flight ( Ghidini 2018 ), the international space agencies have started to become interested in BP too. The authors recently have described the relevance of BP for future long-term and far-distant manned space missions, and the current status of the establishment of bioprinters at the ISS in a separate study ( Cubo-Mateo et al, 2020 ). To summarize, the two main objectives for using BP in space are: on the one hand, the opportunity to fabricate complex, multicellular, and 3D tissue models to investigate the effects of space conditions on cells and tissues on-site; on the other hand, there is the hope that BP once could provide tissue constructs for the medical treatment of injured or diseased astronauts.…”

“…In this article, a perspective from the BP point of view for healing of skin wounds in space is described, along with a brief review of selected studies about BP of the skin. As the international space agencies have started to implement BP devices at the International Space Station (ISS) ( Cubo-Mateo et al, 2020 ), such approaches are no longer science fiction but will become feasible soon.…”

Current Insights into 3D Bioprinting: An Advanced Approach for Eye Tissue Regeneration

“…For instance, to become a realistic medical option, several parameters still need to be deeply considered such as the biocompatibility and mechanical properties of engrafts along with the biological behavior and attachment properties of cells, to name just the most relevant [22]. Nevertheless, if improvement and evolution in 3D bioprinting technology continues to progress exponentially, the creation of artificial biosynthetic and customizable full eyeballs in the near future is likely, along with other applications that have not yet been fathomed [24,25].…”

“…Furthermore, the irreversible nature of grafts implanted by bioprinting technology impedes the patient's withdrawal from the trial after implantation, in the case of complications. In this sense, the development of 4D bio-printable organs, that can be biodegraded under physiological conditions after having performed the desired effect, merits special attention [24,25]. However, it should be also borne in mind that enrolling in this kind of clinical trial involves the acceptance of high risks associated with the implementation of the technology.…”