NASA wants future Mars explorers to grow their own body parts. The agency is putting a $500,000 bounty on research that allows humans to grow tissue (and organs) in laboratories.
The space agency confirmed the bounty bid, ensuring deep space astronauts will have replacement parts to heal serious injuries and diseases. It's also expected the technology will have immediate applications for Mars' first human inhabitants.
There's concern any successful research is a precursor to human cloning, though. Previous attempts were highly successful in plants and animals, but conducting research on humans is currently considered unethical.
Cloning Cells, Tissues, Organs
Daily Mail reports the Vascular Tissue Challenge is sponsored by New Organ Alliance, a program run by the Methuselah Foundation. The $500,000 prize will be divided among the first three teams that can culture thick, metabolically-functional human vascularized organ tissue in laboratory conditions.
The tissue must be more than one centimeter thick, with more than 85% cell survival rate during a 30-day trial period. The first three teams to complete three trials with a 75% success rate receive shares in the award.
Participating teams are also required to propose research applications in a microgravity experiment, to be conducted onboard the International Space Station. The thick tissues obtained from these experiments will serve as models, to research effects of environmental factors like radiation.
Mars Explorers Expected To Grow Their Own Body Parts
Further research helps develop strategies to minimize damage to healthy cells, particularly on extended and deep space missions. NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk said the humans selected to be Earth's deep space pioneers are essential resource for the exploration of Mars and beyond.
In an Express report, Jurczyk said that "once the 'vascularization limit' is solved, via the NASA Vascular Tissue Challenge, there inevitably will be a historic advance in progress and commercialization of tissue engineering applications to everyone's benefit."
A NASA spokesman said the technology can also be applied closer to home. It's beneficial to deep space exploration, but initially expected to revolutionize health care on Earth. "This technique will help NASA minimise the damage to actual healthy cells."
