Rhodium Inflight Biomanufacturing
Establishing Biomanufacturing Processes for Human Systems in Remote Environments
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Establishing Biomanufacturing Processes for Human Systems in Remote Environments (Rhodium Inflight Biomanufacturing) examines the effects of spaceflight on microbial production processes. Recent studies show that spaceflight affects the composition and function of microbial communities. A better understanding of these effects could help harness microbial production to produce key chemical compounds needed on space missions as well as in remote, resource-limited locations on Earth.
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Experiment Description
Research Overview
- Establishing Biomanufacturing Processes for Human Systems in Remote Environments (Rhodium Inflight Biomanufacturing) assesses the production of bioengineered microbial strands and the resources required to yield mission-critical materials in remote environments.
- Manufacturing in remote environments requires access to molecules that may not be readily accessible.
- To fully leverage this technology, biomanufacturing platforms that use cellular activity in extreme environments must be fully assessed and tested in appropriate testbeds.
- Previous studies show that a combination of microgravity and low dose radiation in space affects the composition and function of the microbial community.
- Results from this study may lead to new tools for point source, on-demand manufacturing using biological systems in resource-limited environments in space and on Earth.
Description
Establishing Biomanufacturing Processes for Human Systems in Remote Environments (Rhodium Inflight Biomanufacturing) studies the capacity for point source production of key mission-critical compounds in a microgravity environment. This research consists of characterizing five different compounds yielded by three bioengineered microbial strains and assesses production capacity and rates of the microbial strains under the combined environmental stress of microgravity and space radiation.
Manufacturing in remote environments requires access to specific resources that are often inaccessible in a timely manner. Enabling bio-based manufacturing technologies represents a novel solution. Microbial production processes may be engineered so that they require minimal resources yet still yield mission-critical materials in remote environments. To fully develop this technology, biomanufacturing platforms that use microbes in extreme environments must be fully assessed and tested.
The main hypothesis of this investigation is that biological data obtained from space-hardened microbial systems species may be used to identify and prioritize cellular processes that enhance biomanufacturing production. Successful testing of this investigation may lead to manufacturing molecules using limited resources in space. The production effort focuses on five proprietary compounds produced by three different microbial species. A systematic examination of the effects of spaceflight on these engineered strains is conducted with the following specific aims:
Specific Aim 1: To determine whether space radiation and microgravity influence the production of well-defined, bioengineered strains. Any advantageous biological activity is identified by comparing yields of biomanufactured products in space against ground controls. The spaceflight-related activity of bioengineered strains is identified by comparing deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) profiles with ground controls.
Specific Aim 2: To determine whether the space environment accelerates, decelerates, or has no effect on the stability of bioengineered microbial strains. Cellular systems are evaluated postflight for viability, system suitability, and potential scale-up.
Applications
Space Applications
Microbial production processes can be engineered to produce mission critical materials with minimal resources. A better understanding of how spaceflight affects microbial production of key compounds could improve yield and efficiency during short- and long-term space missions.
Earth Applications
Results from this study could lead to new tools for on-demand manufacturing using locally sourced materials in remote, resource-limited environments on Earth.
Operations
Operational Requirements and Protocols
Rhodium Inflight Biomanufacturing requires the launch of four Rhodium Science Chamber 32CB flight hardware units. Each chamber provides sufficient culturing volumes for multiple sample replicates. Chambers are frozen from hardware turnover through ascent. After arrival at the space station, the chambers are transferred into on-board cold stowage assets during visiting vehicle unpacking operations. Chambers remain frozen until investigation activation. The chambers are then incubated at set time points to provide ample growth of the microbial populations. Chambers remain frozen through descent and delivery to the research team’s laboratory.
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