Delta Biosciences, a Lithuanian chemical company, in collaboration with the European Space Agency, will launch a ground-breaking space medicine experiment on board the International Space Station (ISS) in 2026, the company said in a press release.
The mission will last almost three years and will test the effects of cosmic radiation on medicines. This includes Delta Biosciences’ special compounds that protect against radiation and additives known as excipients that help maintain the stability of medicines.
The aim is to make the drugs usable on longer astronaut journeys, such as a future mission to Mars.
“Medicines are designed based on the way things are on Earth, but space changes everything,” said Dominykas Milašius, co-founder of Delta Biosciences. “Radiation, extreme temperatures and the impossibility of restocking are pushing medicines to their limits.”
He added that this mission starts with developing medicines that can resist radiation from the very beginning of their development.
THIS WILL BE THE FIRST LIFE SCIENCE EXPERIMENT IN SPACE TO BE CARRIED OUT BY THE LITHUANIA OR CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT STEP FOR BOTH SPACE MEDICINE AND THE LITHUANIAN SPACE INDUSTRY.
The European Space Agency says this experiment addresses a major challenge in space travel: ensuring that medicines remain safe and work well in the harsh conditions of space.
“Experiments assessing how the space environment affects medicines have so far been limited,” said Dr Angelique van Ombergen, ESA’s Chief Research Scientist. “This experiment will provide ESA and the wider space community with new insights into how we can protect astronauts and extend the shelf life of medicines in space, a key requirement for long-term missions beyond Earth orbit.”
The project will test a wide range of medicines by placing them in different radiation zones on the International Space Station. Every eight months, samples will be brought back and studied. Scientists will compare them with similar samples stored on Earth to see how the medicine breaks down over time.
“Space exploration is a global challenge, as is keeping astronauts healthy,” said Onė Mikulskytė, space researcher at Delta Biosciences. “We are laying the foundations for a future where no mission is limited by the availability of safe and effective treatments.”
The mission is scheduled to launch in early 2026.
Read the full article in English here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2558343/lithuanian-firm-to-test-space-medicine-on-iss