Duration: 18 months
Astronauts face unique health risks during space missions, including immune suppression, microbial imbalances, and heightened cancer risk due to prolonged radiation exposure and stress. These challenges necessitate a forward-thinking approach to astronaut health, focusing on early detection of health issues and real-time health monitoring to support early interventions and mitigate the long-term effects of space environments. However, current diagnostic methods are bulky, multi-step, require extensive sample preparation, and are unsuitable for in-mission use. This project introduces a miniaturized optical biosensor leveraging inProbe technology (originally developed for in vivo HER2 detection in cancer diagnostics under EU Horizon2020). The biosensor device will feature interchangeable probe tips capable of direct, non-invasive analysis of selected space-relevant biomarkers in raw biofluids (e.g., saliva, urine) under microgravity, eliminating the need for sample preparation.
The device will integrate an analyzer and fiber-optic probe sensors (covering two diagnostic panels) into a compact, space-optimized platform. The novelty of this biosensor device lies in its ability to integrate multi-target diagnostics within a single, portable unit with interchangeable probe tips, addressing the unique challenges of space environments. Its compact design will accommodate microgravity-specific fluid dynamics, radiation resistance, and closed-loop sampling, enabling real-time, personalized diagnostics during missions—a capability currently unavailable.
