Growing tissue samples in vitro, i.e. in a bioreactor, is currently one of the major goals of medical research. One of the possible applications of this technique is mass cultivation of biological implants to regenerate the meniscus and the articular cartilage of the knee. Cartilage regeneration is urgently needed by patients in their 20s to 50s, many of them with injuries from sports accidents. The principles of in vitro cell culture have been known for almost 100 years, but only in the last 10 - 20 years has the cultivation of mammalian cultures increased significantly, leading to the creation of the discipline of tissue engineering. These techniques are expected to revolutionise biomedical and surgical procedures in the near future.
Space research has potential to give a boost to tissue engineering.
As compared to the normal gravity conditions on Earth, a weightlessness environment may provide much better conditions for obtaining proper three-dimensional cell structures. The International Space Station. The modular space bioreactor project is one of over 50 microgravity applications projects for the International Space Station that the European Space Agency expects to initiate in the near future. With the availability of the International Space Station, examining specific applied research questions in the unique environment of weightlessness promises to be a rewarding long-term undertaking for industry. This project is being sponsored by ESA's Microgravity Applications Promotion Programme and is being funded jointly with the participating scientific research institutes and industry.