jsc2022e042482 (5/19/2022) --- Image of mesenchymal stromal cells which are essential for bone, wound, and cartilage repair. Image courtesy of Dr. Dong Wang, Transplant and Stem Cell Immunobiology (TSI) Laboratory at UCSF.

NASA Langley partnered with UNOS, a non-profit organization that manages the U.S. organ transplant system, to conduct the first-of-its-kind organ transport drone test with a human kidney on June 5, 2026 at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Photo Credit NASA/Ryan Hill

Unprecedented Human Organ Drone Flight Test at NASA Langley

Microgravity

Biomedical research offers hope for a variety of medical problems, from diabetes to the replacement of damaged bone and tissues. Bioreactors, which are used to grow cells and tissue cultures, play a major role in such research and production efforts. Anchorage dependent cells on STS-95 will be grown on beads, similar to these cells produced during previous investigations. Recombinant proteins may offer the possibility of reducing or eliminating transplant rejections. Research by Synthecon, Inc. using the BioDyn Bioreactor will focus on the preliminary process for growing a proprietary recombinant protein that can decrease rejection of transplanted tissue. The cells producing this protein are anchorage dependent, meaning that they must attach to something to grow. These cells will be cultured in the bioreactor in a medium containing polymer microbeads. Synthecon hopes that the data from this mission will lead to the development of a commercial protein that will aid in prevention of transplant rejection.

Microgravity

Biomedical research offers hope for a variety of medical problems, from diabetes to the replacement of damaged bone and tissues. Bioreactors, which are used to grow cells and tissue cultures, play a major role in such research and production efforts. Anchorage dependent cells on STS-95 will be grown on beads similar to these cells produced during previous investigations. Recombinant proteins may offer the possibility of reducing or eliminating transplant rejections. Research by Synthecon, Inc. using the BioDyn Bioreactor will focus on the preliminary process for growing a proprietary recombinant protein that can decrease rejection of transplanted tissue. The cells producing this protein are anchorage dependent, meaning that they must attach to something to grow. These cells will be cultured in the bioreactor in a medium containing polymer microbeads. Synthecon hopes that the data from this mission will lead to the development of a commercial protein that will aid in prevention of transplant rejection.

jsc2024e038395

jsc2024e038395 (6/5/2024) --- Live human heart tissue bioprinted with Redwire's BioFabrication Facility aboard the International Space Station. The tissue was successfully returned to Earth in April 2024. Results of the Redwire Cardiac Bioprinting Investigation (BFF-Cardiac) could advance technologies for producing organs and tissues in lieu of donated organs for transplant. The investigation also improves 3D printing, with the goal of giving the crew the ability to print material like foods and medicines on demand for future long-duration space missions. Image courtesy of Redwire.

The MicroMed DeBakey VAD

JSC2004-E-26519 --- Dr. Michael DeBakey (far right) observes preparation procedures before the implantation of a MicroMed DeBakey VAD® (ventricular assist device). The revolutionary heart pump received FDA approval in February 2004 for use in critically ill children awaiting heart transplants. The heart pump was designed with the help of NASA engineers who began working with Dr. DeBakey on the pump's development in the mid-1980s.

Around Marshall

NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, located in eastern New Orleans, Louisiana, is an 832 acre site that is a government-owned, contractor-operated component of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The facility was acquired by NASA in 1961 at the recommendation of Dr. Wernher von Braun and his rocket team in Huntsville Alabama. The cavernous plant served as the assembly facility for the Saturn launch vehicles and most recently the external tank (ET) used for the Space Shuttle Program. The facility features one of the world's biggest manufacturing plants with 43 acres under one roof and a port with deep-water access for the transportation of large space structures. When completed, space hardware is towed on a barge across the Gulf of Mexico, around Florida and up to Kennedy Space Center. The original tract of land was part of a 34,500 acre French Royal land grant to local merchant, Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent in 1763. Later, the land was acquired by French transplant Antoine Michoud, the son of Napoleon's Administrator of Domains, who moved to the city in 1827. Michoud operated a sugar cane plantation and refinery on the site until his death in 1863. His heirs continued operating the refinery and kept the original St. Maxent estate intact into the 20th century. Visible on the right, is one of two brick smokestacks from the original refinery that still stand before the Michoud facility today.

Around Marshall

NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, located in eastern New Orleans, Louisiana, is an 832 acre site that is a government-owned, contractor-operated component of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The facility was acquired by NASA in 1961 at the recommendation of Dr. Wernher von Braun and his rocket team in Huntsville Alabama. The cavernous plant served as the assembly facility for the Saturn launch vehicles and most recently the external tank (ET) used for the Space Shuttle Program. The facility features one of the world's biggest manufacturing plants with 43 acres under one roof and a port with deep-water access for the transportation of large space structures. When completed, space hardware is towed on a barge across the Gulf of Mexico, around Florida and up to Kennedy Space Center. The original tract of land was part of a 34,500 acre French Royal land grant to local merchant, Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent in 1763. Later, the land was acquired by French transplant Antoine Michoud, the son of Napoleon's Administrator of Domains, who moved to the city in 1827. Michoud operated a sugar cane plantation and refinery on the site until his death in 1863. His heirs continued operating the refinery and kept the original St. Maxent estate intact into the 20th century. Two brick smokestacks from the original refinery still stand before the Michoud facility today.

Around Marshall

NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, located in eastern New Orleans, Louisiana, is an 832 acre site that is a government-owned, contractor-operated component of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The facility was acquired by NASA in 1961 at the recommendation of Dr. Wernher von Braun and his rocket team in Huntsville Alabama. The cavernous plant served as the assembly facility for the Saturn launch vehicles and most recently the external tank (ET) used for the Space Shuttle Program. The facility features one of the world's biggest manufacturing plants with 43 acres under one roof and a port with deep-water access for the transportation of large space structures. When completed, space hardware is towed on a barge across the Gulf of Mexico, around Florida and up to Kennedy Space Center. The original tract of land was part of a 34,500 acre French Royal land grant to local merchant, Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent in 1763. Later, the land was acquired by French transplant Antoine Michoud, the son of Napoleon's Administrator of Domains, who moved to the city in 1827. Michoud operated a sugar cane plantation and refinery on the site until his death in 1863. His heirs continued operating the refinery and kept the original St. Maxent estate intact into the 20th century. Two brick smokestacks from the original refinery still stand before the Michoud facility today.

Around Marshall

NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, located in eastern New Orleans, Louisiana, is an 832 acre site that is a government-owned, contractor-operated component of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The facility was acquired by NASA in 1961 at the recommendation of Dr. Wernher von Braun and his rocket team in Huntsville Alabama. The cavernous plant served as the assembly facility for the Saturn launch vehicles and most recently the external tank (ET) used for the Space Shuttle Program. The facility features one of the world's biggest manufacturing plants with 43 acres under one roof and a port with deep-water access for the transportation of large space structures. When completed, space hardware is towed on a barge across the Gulf of Mexico, around Florida and up to Kennedy Space Center. The original tract of land was part of a 34,500 acre French Royal land grant to local merchant, Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent in 1763. Later, the land was acquired by French transplant Antoine Michoud, the son of Napoleon's Administrator of Domains, who moved to the city in 1827. Michoud operated a sugar cane plantation and refinery on the site until his death in 1863. His heirs continued operating the refinery and kept the original St. Maxent estate intact into the 20th century. Two brick smokestacks from the original refinery still stand before the Michoud facility today as seen in the lower half of this photograph taken in the 1960's, while the upper half reflects the area during the time of the sugar cane plantation workers.