Dear all
The European Space Agency have plans to build a 3D Bioprinter for the International Space Station, and are looking to develop the academic community that will utilise this facility for their research, and contribute to the preparations of the facility. Bioprinting in space has the potential to offer new ways of treating astronauts during long duration missions, but also contribute further to the wider field of 3D bioprinting.
They are currently working to foster a community of researchers who will make the most of the facility, provide inputs to the development, and make sure that the research that is performed in space is of the highest quality.
To support this, ESA are planning a workshop in Dresden in March 2022 to discuss their activities. This will be followed by an Announcement of Opportunity which will aim to address knowledge gaps through terrestrial research to facilitate in-orbit research.
The UK Space Agency has been asked to suggest names of UK based researchers who should be invited to the workshop. Attendance at the workshop, whilst not a prerequisite for any of the activities that follow, would provide a good introduction to this field and the emerging network of researchers that will use this. Experience of space research is not at all necessary, ESA are looking to draw on the existing expertise in the terrestrial field and expand this into the space arena.
If you are UK based, with expertise in this field, and interested / see merit in exploring this topic further, please do get in touch with Libby Jackson) at the UK Space Agency (libby.jackson@ukspaceagency.gov.uk) as soon as possible, and ideally before January 21st 2022. Please also get in touch if you have any questions etc.
ESA currently have a call for information open on their OSIP platform, inviting the scientific community to provide input for important discussion points on the topic '3D Bioprinting in Space', which will be used as input for discussion topics at the workshop. The requested input is up to half a page. The deadline for responses is the deadline will close on Friday 21 January 2022 (23:59 CET) and will not be extended. Submission to the call is not a pre-requisite for workshop attendance. Details are here.
The workshop will take place on 15 and 16 March, 2022, in Dresden, DE, with virtual attendance also possible. ESA may shift to a fully virtual meeting, depending on how the pandemic situation evolves. There is a preliminary flyer available here. A final programme and more information on registration will follow in January 2022.
The OSIP call open now will provide input to the discussions at the workshop, and where feasible and relevant, the workshop discussions will drive the scope of an upcoming ESA ground-based 3D Bioprinting Announcement of Opportunity (AO). This AO is aimed at performing precursor and preparation activities to address important knowledge gaps on ground before 3D Bioprinting activities will start in orbit on the ISS.
|
|
|
|
|
