The agency is set to launch a four-man crew of astronauts around the moon for the first time since the 1970s. Part of that mission involves the AVATAR experiment, meant to see how the human body reacts to long periods in outer space. That includes how the body reacts to microgravity and higher levels of radiation.
Space Tango developed the hardware those chips will be encased in. President and Co-Founder Twyman Clements said the studies are necessary to see if humans can stay in space for long periods of time.
“You're really looking at mechanisms within the body that are hard to track in the astronauts themselves,” he said. “So you're really looking at these core functions through these tissue chips and human models.”
NASA has run similar experiments on bone marrow in the past, but this is the first time the agency willrun them outside of low orbit. That means higher levels of radiation.
“When you go to the moon or you're going further out into the solar system, you don't have that protection. You're not getting that radiation protection,” Clements said.
Space Tango says the batteries attached to the cases will run for around 14 days, enough for the 10-day mission and post-flight recovery.
NASA’s goal is to eventually re-establish a lunar presence as part of the Artemis missions, either with lunar rovers or people.
“These human model studies, you know, we will see where it goes. We hope it's the first of many, but we're certainly very focused with, you know, working with NASA on the success of this one,” Clements said.
There’s no set date for the Artemis II launch, but the earliest possible launch window is next month.
