“The Final Frontier”, not just a Star Trek film, but these days, a term referring to space exploration, as it is the last “place” for us, humanity, to explore now that we’ve explored our whole planet.
Vannevar Bush wrote, almost 80 years ago, science and engineering are both enthralling and inspiring, truly the “endless frontier”.
Indeed, applying the endless frontier to go to the final frontier is what is needed within the space industry, and for the future of humanity.
The International Space Station is the ultimate example of applying the endless frontier; one of the most innovative engineering feats conceived, built, and functioning beyond expectations (for its 20+ years as a lab in space and for the collaborative partnerships between nations involved), but also, for all the incredible scientific data and breakthroughs it has brought us from its microgravity environment.
So, you can think, great, we made amazing discoveries and gathered lots of interesting data up in space, but what does that have to do with benefiting us here, and of life on Earth?
Well, from fundamental disease research (Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Cancer, and more), to water purification systems, to studies on muscle atrophy and bone loss, monitoring our planet from a unique perspective, including simply inspiring young people into STEM-and-Space – those are just some of the work and discoveries produced in space that affect us here on Earth.
For more specifics, here is a thorough article shared directly by NASA: “20 breakthroughs in 20 years”.
I will emphasize on one example of a specific research done in space that benefits us on Earth: protein crystallization and drug development by studying crystal proteins.
Proteins are not just a food requirement that we all think of when eating eggs, meat or the like. It is a complex compound essential for all living creatures, and is species-specific, organ-specific, and there are many forms/kinds of it, including hormonal proteins, enzymatic proteins, structural, defensive and storage proteins.
When taking a medication for a certain illness, that medication binds to a specific protein in our bodies and that process changes that protein’s function, and if done right, is what consists of the healing process of that illness.
Hence, to study and understand proteins is to give scientists so many answers about how our bodies work and how we can help fight diseases.
Proteins are complex substances, and one way to study them is a process called “Protein crystallization”.
Crystallization of protein molecules has been common knowledge among scientists for over a century, but it was during the Shuttle-Mir missions – just prior to getting the space station built, – in space, researchers found that they could produce higher quality (and purity) protein crystals in microgravity than on Earth. For over two decades now on the space station, more than 500 protein crystal growth (PCG) experiments have been conducted as of 2021.
The above statement and to read more on crystal growth experiments, you can learn more in these links:
Promising methods (still in trials or in development) of treating a variety of complex illnesses (Tuberculosis, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), breast cancer, lung cancer…) are the result of the studies done on the space station with PCG (protein crystal growth), but also, that research extends to the formulation of these drugs and in how to make them easier to store at room temperature (no need for refrigeration), and hence last longer.
A separate research sponsored by ISS National Lab, focuses on some drugs that do not dissolve easily in liquid, and currently, are given intravenously (IV therapy) to patients, which can be a time consuming process, both, due to the lengthy time needing to spend in the hospital, and for the treatment to actually work (and some patients just do not have that time due to the late stage of their sickness.)
But the high-quality crystalline of these same drugs developed in microgravity shows that the drug could potentially be given by injection instead. This method would be easier for the patient, caregiver, and faster in time to help heal that patient (and less costly too!).
As can be seen, protein crystallization, along all the other research done in that microgravity environment, has brought researchers faster (or different) data, results, solutions, innovations and potentially cures, that were either not possible or too lengthy of a process here on Earth.
And so, that is just one example of how space [research, exploration, etc.] benefits life on Earth.
I didn’t know much about this prior to researching about it and following my phone conversation with Dylan Taylor.
Dylan is Chairman and CEO of Voyager Space (Voyager). Voyager say on their LinkedIn page that they are a: “space exploration company dedicated to building a better future for humanity in space and on Earth.”
Voyager is currently working on the next-generation space station, the Starlab.
From a PR Newswire article describing this mission and of their joint venture with Airbus, they say they are doing it:
“To support a continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit and a seamless transition of microgravity science and research opportunities in the post-International Space Station era”.
Dylan explains to me how he believes going to space, and having a continuous presence there is very important for humanity and its future, But the question is: how to do it.
For him, the answer was to found a company that will help make this happen: Voyager. (And by the way, in case you do know much about Dylan, he himself has been to space on a suborbital flight with Blue Origin in late 2021.)
In our conversation, Dylan named some ways that space can benefit us here on Earth, from providing internet to population that still don’t have it, which can do anything from educating them and getting them out of poverty, to monitoring climate change, to researching specific drugs like Keytruda, a drug used for lung cancer. All those things and more, is why he strongly believes that space benefits life on Earth and is needed for the future of humanity.
Researching on the subject of "protein crystal growth (PCG)" alone and all the array of new medicine and treatments that might come out of that is giving me a whole new appreciation for what happens in space, and is a huge inspiration, for the future of humanity, and even for the longevity of our individual lives.
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