Arab News | Saudi researchers launch landmark space mission to study aging and brain disorders

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has launched the first biological samples from the Middle East to space as part of the BioGravity-1 mission aboard a SpaceX resupply flight to the International Space Station, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The launch, led by the Saudi Space Agency (SSA) and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), marks the first phase of a long-term research program aimed at advancing studies into Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative conditions, according to SPA.

The mission was carried into orbit aboard the SpaceX CRS-35 mission to the International Space Station with support from NASA.

BioGravity-1 is designed to establish a scientific baseline for future research by sending biological samples from healthy donors into the microgravity environment of space. Researchers will study how cells respond to conditions that cannot be replicated on Earth and examine biological changes linked to aging and neurological diseases.

The mission includes two experiments, SSA-1 and SSA-2, developed by KAUST.

According to SPA, the program is being conducted through an international partnership involving the US-based National Stem Cell Foundation (NSCF), Axiom Space, NASA, the Saudi Space Agency and KAUST.

Rayyanah Barnawi, general supervisor of microgravity research at the SSA and Saudi astronaut, said the launch represented an important step in using the space environment to advance human health research and demonstrated the Kingdom’s growing capabilities in advanced scientific studies.

She said the BioGravity program aims to translate findings from orbit into research opportunities that could deepen understanding of diseases and help support the development of future treatments.

KAUST bioscience professor and project lead Imed Gallouzi said the mission would allow scientists to test disease models in a unique microgravity environment, strengthening the university’s contribution to research with potential benefits for patients in Saudi Arabia and beyond.

Pinar Mesci, scientific adviser to the National Stem Cell Foundation and global head of biomanufacturing and biotechnology at Axiom Space, said researchers would test the “Brain Organoid Village” concept in microgravity for the first time.

She said combining multiple cell lines within a single organoid could enable population-level studies and make it possible to conduct what she described as “clinical trials in a dish.” The project includes biological samples from Saudi Arabia through cooperation between the SSA and KAUST.

The BioGravity program comprises three missions. The first focuses on healthy reference samples, the second will examine models derived from patients with Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis, and the third will study therapeutic responses and explore potential drug targets in microgravity, SPA reported.

The initiative forms part of the Saudi Space Agency’s efforts to expand microgravity and life sciences research, strengthen international scientific partnerships and support innovation and knowledge-based economic growth under Vision 2030.