Rockets in Sweden for cancer research – India Education | Latest Education News | Global education news
The rocket launch is part of an international cancer research collaboration between La Trobe University, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo).
The mission was to test the effects of zero gravity on Trichoplax, the tiny animals that travel to 250 km above the Earth, whose ancient mechanisms could be used to develop therapeutic or preventive measures for human cancer.
Leading researcher from Australia, Professor Patrick Humbert from the La Trobe Institute of Molecular Sciences (LIMS) at La Trobe University, was at Esrange Space Center in Sweden for the launch of MAPHEUS-12.
Professor Humbert said experiments with Trichoplax in zero gravity are expected to give the team insight into detecting and repairing tissue damage, as part of a wider aim to prevent cancer.
“Trichoplax is ideal for this type of experiment. As it is one of the first multicellular animals, it is one of the first that has had to find a way to stop cancer and stop one cell ‘tricking’ another and growing faster and takes over the whole animal, says Professor Humbert.
“Trichoplax is also one of the fastest-healing animals on the planet, with a simple cut that can heal in minutes. Because astronauts can’t heal wounds properly in space, we also think these experiments will teach us about human wound healing.”
“Overall, in this project we are using Trichoplax to understand the very first steps of cancer, which is how and why tissues become disorganized as the very first necessary event before a tumor begins to grow – and how loss of gravity affects regeneration and cancer in space” , said Professor Humbert.
Professor Humbert said the launch was hailed as a success by the international research team.
“We were able to successfully launch the rocket with experiments that we have been working on for more than 18 months and retrieve the animal samples,” Professor Humbert said.
“The initial technical profile of the experiment looks good so we are now eagerly awaiting to see what the data analysis tells us back in the lab.”
The launch took place at the Esrange Space Center and was coordinated by the German Aerospace Center mobile rocket base (MORABA) and the Swedish Space Agency.
The trichoplax were loaded onto a sounding rocket and reached an altitude of 260 km above Earth before falling back to Earth.
During the 30-minute flight, the team took regular samples to measure the effects of loss of gravity, or “microgravity,” on the genetic program of Trichoplax—that is, all the genes that are turned on or off after launch and during microgravity.
The experimental rocket payload returned to Earth and was collected by helicopter on the tundra and samples were removed to be analyzed back in the lab.
This is part of a series of experiments where the international team will test regeneration and cancer responses in Trichoplax with short- and long-term exposure to microgravity.