Four Saudi Arabian astronauts aboard the International Space Station will carry out 20 important experiments. These include research into cancer prediction and prevention, and a study on creating artificial rain for future human settlements on the Moon and Mars.
According to the report of Al-Arabiya News, this four-person crew from Saudi Arabia will conduct various experiments in low Earth orbit, from DNA nanotherapeutics to cancer.
The first includes percloud seeding, which is the process of artificially producing rain by seeding clouds with particles such as silver iodide (AGI) crystals.
According to the report, it has been adopted by many countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, to increase rainfall in drought-affected areas. will
In addition, cloud seeding will be evaluated for the first time in space under microgravity conditions to help develop climate control technology.
The second is the Interstellar Stem Cells Project, which aims to gain insight into the effects of microgravity on the production of stem cells and stem cell-derived products in space.
The report noted that the space was used to reprogram skin cells (fibroblasts) into stem cells capable of producing different tissue types (heart, brain and blood) to review steps used in terrestrial manufacturing. Yes, they can be useful for regenerative medicine applications on land.
The third Prism’s low-orbit research includes cancer prediction and prevention, which will test stem cell models as a follow-on project to Exim’s first mission in space. Can help prevent. These models can aid in the diagnosis and treatment of pre-cancer, cancer and a variety of other diseases on Earth.
Fourth is the space tissue and regeneration project, in which bioengineered liver and kidney tissues will be sent into space to evaluate the effects of microgravity on the vascularization of thick tissues.
According to reports, this platform technology and methodology, if successful, could be useful for bioengineering the ‘building blocks’ of tissues in space and could act as a bridge to transplant donor organs into patients.