Uganda has officially become a spacefaring nation with the help of NASA and Japan after its newly launched satellite with some pretty nitty technology has been launched into space aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Futurism reports that the satellite was launched from NASA's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport facility in Virginia on the morning of November 7 after it was delayed from its previous schedule on November 6 due to a fire alarm. The satellite is poised not only to provide important agricultural and security monitor for the nation but also to conduct 3D bioprinting of human tissue in space.
About Uganda's First-Ever Satellite
Uganda-based news outlet Nile Post reported that Uganda's first-ever satellite is named PearlAfricaSat-1, developed by engineers of the BIRDS program, which is a cross-border interdisciplinary satellite project for non-space-faring nations supported by Japan.
The program also follows the agreement between the country and Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) in Japan, which is involved in upskilling three graduate engineers to design, build, test, and launch the country's first-ever satellite.
The satellite is loaded with over 8,200 pounds of research and crew supplies, as well as hardware. The satellite aims to aid research and observation in six primary weather forecasts, namely, land, water, and mineral mapping, agriculture monitoring, infrastructure planning, border security, and disaster prevention.
Moreover, it will help in research investigations to advance the 3D biological printing of human tissue in space, as well as conduct a study that takes advantage of microgravity to better understand catastrophic mudflows that can happen after wildfires, investigates how microgravity influences ovary function, and experiments on whether space-grown plants could adapt to microgravity and if it could be inherited by next generation of plants.
PearlAfricaSat-1's main goal is to provide a 20-meter resolution for Uganda to facilitate water quality, soil fertility, and land use and cover. The data to be collected will help establish a bare ground from forest and farmland to improve the livelihood of citizens in the country.
Lastly, it will play a vital role in the country's oil and gas operation by monitoring the East African crude oil pipeline. As the satellite collects data on weather, it will give helpful data for predicting landslides and drought.
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3D Bioprinting in Space
NASA's Northrup Grumman NG-18 resupply mission that was launched on November 7 also carried an upgraded 3D bioprinter called the BiFabrication Facility (BFF) along with other supplies for the ISS.
According to Quartz, BFF is a platform for scientists to print organ-like tissues and prove their viability in space. Uganda is riding on this technology to 3D print human organs to help thousands of patients who die from organ failure in their country.
Redwire executive vice president of in-space manufacturing and operations John Vellinger said in a statement that BFF is a game-changing technology that could have significant implications for future patient care and human health on Earth.
As to what allows 3D bioprinting in space, Quartz notes that microgravity allows scientists to create high-quality bioprinted body organs and tissues that are not achievable on Earth. Bioprinting in a state of weightlessness eliminates the need for scaffolding to support complex tissue shapes.
Bioprinting has been growing globally in the past years and this is not the first time that it will be done in space. In 2018, Russia sent its bioprinter to the ISS to conduct experiments for printing living human tissue, and NASA has also sent up to the space station on a SpaceX cargo resupply mission by the end of 2021.
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