NDTV EXCLUSIVE: Bio Farming, Masal Loss… India’s astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will do this experiment in Space
Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is going to make a record. He is ready to create history as the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station this year. Exclusive news is that he will do at least three experiments on this mission, including research on muscle loss (muscle loss) in space.
Minister of State for Science and Technology (MOS) Dr. Jitendra Singh said that Shubhanshu Shukla will focus on “Space Technology, Space Bio-Construction and Bio-Economic Sciences” during his 15-day long space mission. That is, on Space Technology, Space Bio-Manufacturing and Bio-Astronautics. On the mission, IAF officer Shubhanshu Shukla will develop a special micro -organism in a football -shaped space station to search for edible algae.
Dr. Singh said, “Space is a difficult place. And it is not that if you become a astronaut, it changes the basic science of the human body.”
He said that continuous availability of nutrients, preserving food, microgravity, radiation, physical changes in astronauts and health -related threats, how to clean and use garbage in a permanent manner, are some of the major challenges in space. He further said, “It has been estimated that by 2050 commercial space travel is going to be a reality and we need to be ready for the future. For this, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will start the mission project together. It will focus on the experiences of simple space bio-manufacturing.”
According to NASA, Shubhanshu Shukla will be a private spacecraft mission to be launched on the Spacex Dragon spacecraft, Axiom Mission 4 (AX-4) pilot. It is expected that the US Space Agency will probably launch this mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in early May. As part of cooperation between NASA and ISRO, the crew of this mission will experiment in microgravity, will do outreach programs and commercial activities.
The third experiment will focus on the adverse effects of space situations on the body of astronauts. (DBT)
Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the micro-gavity of the space will present unique challenges. But India’s experiments will help in the upcoming Gaganyaan and Indian space station programs.
Giving the rest of the details, MOS said that in the first experiment they will be developed in space using some food -able micro algae (microalgi) and will see if they are able to live alive even in space conditions. It will be discovered whether they can serve as permanent sources of foods like protein, carbohydrates, lipids and vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C and E for astronauts during future space operations. These algae will be grown in closed containers and they will be given water and carbon dioxide. He said that this experiment will be led by International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi.
There will also be a second experiment under the leadership of ICGEB. In this, a target will be set to make the work of work from waste in space. Dr. Singh says that urea present in the urine of astronauts will be used to grow some blue-green algae called Spirulina and a desert species called Crocidiopsis. It is important to recycling resources in space as it is very expensive to carry the material.
Reports show that in space flights lasting five to 11 days, the muscles of 20% of astronauts decrease. On the other hand, it takes decades for muscle loss or sarcopenia to develop on the Earth. Using supplements in muscle cell culture model, researchers are trying to increase the function of mitochondria, which is an important component in this situation. On Earth, this experiment is expected to help patients facing muscle loss.
There has been a significant increase in India’s bio-economy. It has increased from $ 10 billion in 2014 to more than $ 151 billion in 2023. It is estimated to reach $ 300 billion by 2030.
In a statement, DBT said that cooperation with ISRO would carry forward space biotechnology in India and will contribute significantly to our country’s space economy. Space economy is expected to grow five times in the next 10 years to about $ 44 billion.
One of its special areas is space bio-manufacturing, which has immense business capacity such as the development of artificial organs. For this, to keep the layers of the tissue together, we need a separate structure on the earth. But when experiments are done in space, the layers of the tissue do not break and no structure is required. DBT and ISRO will also pay attention to organoid development in space, with the future goal of development of artificial organs.
It can be noted that the three very simple experiments to develop lobobia seeds, bacteria and spinach cells (cells) in space were carried out on the ISRO module called POEM earlier this year. These were the first biology experiments done by Indians in the microgravity of space.
