The European Space Agency ( ESA ) wants to have options in case of emergencies with astronauts en route to Mars.
The European Space Agency ( ESA ) has announced that it is working on 3D bioprinting of bones, a practice that could be applied as an emergency in space.
According to the ESA , it is expected that these artificial impressions could be an option in the event of emergencies during space travel on the way to other planets such as Mars or on the International Space Station .
To avoid wear
Astronauts have to face extreme conditions when traveling to space and possible trips to planets like Mars, further away than the International Space Station, can aggravate its consequences for astronauts.
For this reason, the agency is working on bioprinting “bone parts” with bioink made up of human blood plasma, with which, in the event of fractures, sprains or grafts, they can be used in life or death situations.
The ESA’s plan is, in addition to the bones, to be able to generate even more complex pieces such as complete internal organs.
Meanwhile, the European agency is working on many other experiments related to future human trips to the Moon. Recently, he revealed the concept of a device that would extract breathable oxygen from dust on the lunar surface . The ESA has even selected a team of four companies that have been given the responsibility of developing the device. The team has a tough challenge ahead of them, as their device will have to extract between 50 and 100 grams of oxygen from the lunar soil in order to extract 70% of the sample.