A concept of biopharmaceutical nanosatellite

TL;DR

This paper proposes a biopharmaceutical CubeSat nanosatellite for conducting space-based drug testing, emphasizing recent technological advances that make this feasible and highlighting its importance for space tourism and Mars colonization.

Contribution

It introduces a novel concept of a biopharmaceutical nanosatellite, combining recent nanosatellite and lab-on-a-chip technologies for space medicine applications.

Findings

Feasibility of biopharmaceutical CubeSat using recent nanosatellite tech

Design layout of a 3U biopharmaceutical CubeSat

Potential to advance space medicine and support Mars colonization

Abstract

The article is a short overview of a proposal of a CubeSat type nanosatellite designed to conduct biopharmaceutical tests on the low earth orbit. Motivations behind the emerging demand for such solution nowadays and in the close future are emphasized. The possible objectives and challenges to be addressed in the planned biopharmaceutical CubeSat missions are discussed. In particular, it is hard to imagine progress of the space tourism and colonization of Mars without a wide-ranging development of pharmaceutics dedicated to be used in space. Finally, an exemplary layout of a 3U type CubeSat is presented. We stress that, thanks to recent development in both nanosatellite technologies and lab-on-a-chip type biofluidic systems the proposed idea becomes now both feasible and relatively affordable.