List of Missions

SpacePharma’s experiments in microgravity

OUR SATELLITEs
01

DIDO 2

Free orbit satellite

Launched
/
/
Feb  2017
DIDO2 satellite ready to go
/
Figure 1  DIDO2 satellite ready to go
SPmg2 lab ready to be installed in DIDO2 satellite
/
Figure 2  SPmg2 lab ready to be installed in DIDO2 satellite
Droplet coalescence during 10 days experiment
/
Figure 3  Droplet coalescence during 10 days experiment
Blue circleDIDO 2
Hexagonal
c6h12o6
Enzymatic reaction
Glucose is oxidized by oxido-reductase in presence of Resazurin as an indicator. Reaction is monitored by spectrometry. Results showed that Kinetics was tenfolds slower, and different ratio of secondary oxidation were obtained.
Hexagonal
h2o
Droplet coalescence
Oil droplets were suspended in water with surfactant. They were observed by optical microscope. It was found that Minimal drop coalescence occurred, compared to immediate phase separation on earth. Input for computerized kinetic simulation was provided by this experiment.
Hexagonal
c9h11No2
Peptide self assembly
Phenyl-Alanine was precipitated by water and observed by optical microscope. Spherulite-like structures were obtained in microgravity, compared to sheaves structure on ground.
OUR SATELLITEs
03

Nexus 1

1st generation lab onboard the ISS

Launched
/
/
NOV  2017
Taking out product from NEXUS1 after successful return to Earth
/
Figure 1   Taking out product from NEXUS1 after successful return to Earth
SpacePharma team during NEXUS1 preflight
/
Figure 2  SpacePharma team during NEXUS1 preflight
SpacePharma team during NEXUS1 preflight
/
Figure 3  SpacePharma team during NEXUS1 preflight
SPmg2 lab ready to be installed to NEXUS1 and launch to the ISS
/
Figure 4  SPmg2 lab ready to be installed to NEXUS1 and launch to the ISS
Crystallization of an active pharmaceutical ingredient for Asthma
Precipitation by anti-solvent and by cooling profile were tried. Crystals were ~100 times thicker and 10 times longer than earth needle-like crystals. Crystals had single lattice, providing accurate XRD data for determination of enantiomeric conformation.
Primary human macrophages adaptation to µG
Study of the activity of macrophages in space. Purpose was to understand the immunition system of astronauts.
OUR SATELLITEs
03

Nexus 2

2nd generation lab onboard the ISS

This mission carried human muscle cells from 7 human donors in order to explore their growth and behavior.

Launched
/
/
NOV  2018
SpacePharma Advanced (SPAd) lab
/
Figure 1  SpacePharma Advanced (SPAd) lab
SPAd-lab during NEXUS2 preflight
/
Figure 2  SPAd-lab during NEXUS2 preflight
NEXUS2 launch to the ISS onboard of the NG10 resupply mission
/
Figure 3  NEXUS2 launch to the ISS onboard of the NG10 resupply mission
Parabolic flights
SpacePharma has participated in three Parabolic flights to test the hardware and perform short experiments.
Organometalic catalysis
The purpose was to explore the effect of both magnetic field and microgravity. Apparently in parabolic flight no significant differences were observed.
Polymorphism of organic crystals
Crystallization of Histidine was performed in a flow system by adding antisolvent, in timing with airplane dives. Higher tendency towards the more stable polymorph A in flight, compared to Higher tendency towards the less stable polymorph B on ground was observed. It Indicates that initial seeding in microgravity determines polymorph of entire crystal population.

SpacePharma’s future missions

DIDO 3

Free orbit satellite

to be launched on
/
june 2020
Nov 2019

Experiments for Israeli and Italian academies
Four experiments in biology and biochemistry will be performed.

[
Experiment
]
[
Research Goals
]

Bacterial conjugation, dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes and their expression control under microgravity conditions

Research Goals

Study the effect of microgravity and low fluid shear on the acquisition of antibiotic resistance via conjugation and determine how microgravity affects the transcriptional landscape of virulence and conjugation genes in clinically important pathogens

Reconfiguration of DNA structures and their functions under no gravity conditions

Research Goals

Identifying the effect of µ-gravity conditions on the:

1. self-assembly of G-quadruplexes

2. catalytic functions of the hemin/G-quadruplexes

Enzymatic Reactions with Bacteria in micro-Gravity

Research Goals

Investigate how the microgravity environment of space affects the kinetics of the action of antimicrobial agents on bacterial pathogens

Microgravity effects on human serum albumin binding properties

Research Goals

Investigate the heme binding to HSA in microgravity conditions as a prototypical model to establish whether gravity may affect the HSA capability to bind endogenous and exogenous molecule

Ramon Foundation mission To the ISS

to be launched on
/
august 2020
DEC 2019

Experiments for Science classes from schools in Israel

[
Experiment
]
[
Research Goals
]

M&M – Metformin and Muscles - Human Skeletal Muscles Satellite Cells (HSkMC) in microgravity

Research Goals

Two main questions:

1.      How does microgravity affect the regeneration process of human muscle cells and specifically the behavior of satellite cells?

2.     How does Metformin effect on human muscle cells that went through regeneration in microgravity?

Effect of Microgravity on Motor Neurons

Research Goals

What are the effects of microgravity on gene expression in the destruction process of motor neurons cells?

Effect of microgravity on Enzymes secretion from Pancreas Acinar Cells

Research Goals

What are the effects of microgravity on Lipase and Amylase secretion levels in Acinar cells?