In Space Production: Applications Within Reach
After four decades of microgravity research, NASA and the ISS National Lab have identified numerous applications that are within reach for NASA?s In Space Production Applications (InSPA) portfolio. Uniform crystals, semiconductors, specialized glass and optical fibers are just a few of the many advanced materials that can benefit from production in microgravity. Artificial retinas, drug delivery medical devices, as well as the production of pluripotent stem cells and bio inks are examples of how microgravity can stimulate the medical and bioscience industries. The most promising may be the production of small molecule crystalline proteins for pharmaceutical therapies. NASA?s InSPA objective is to enable sustainable, scalable, and profitable non-NASA demand for services and products manufactured in the microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit for use on Earth. InSPA supports the goals of the White House?s ?Cancer Moonshot? by seeking new applications that will accelerate the rate of progress against cancer. These projects are of special interest and may include manufacturing of compounds or therapeutics to address oncology applications on Earth. InSPA also supports the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which provides the Department of Commerce with $50 billion for a suite of programs strengthen and revitalize the U.S. position in semiconductor research, development, and manufacturing. InSPA projects centered around semiconductor manufacturing are of special interest and can ensure United States leadership in semiconductor production. (Source: https://www.nist.gov/chips) InSPA awards fall into two categories, Advanced Materials and Tissue Engineering and Biomanufacturing. Advanced Materials use microgravity phenomena singly and in combination to produce a growing range of new products. For example: Crystal Production in microgravity has numerous applications in drug development, testing, and delivery, as well as semiconductors and inorganic frameworks. For example, crystals have the following properties in microgravity: Thin Layer Deposition in microgravity has applications in layering for medical devices, semiconductors, and ceramic coatings. For example: In microgravity, tissues can be formed in three dimensions without supporting architecture, and living matter adapts to microgravity through a variety of mechanisms that can be used to model cellular dysfunction, which occurs on Earth. For example:
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