SpaceX will launch its 33rd commercial resupply mission for NASA from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in late August, delivering a potentially revolutionary scientific experiment to the International Space Station. This study, titled "Microgravity-Associated Bone Loss B" (MABL-B), aims to solve the mystery of bone loss that has long plagued astronauts and offer new hope for osteoporosis patients back on Earth.
In space, despite intensive exercise, astronauts experience a monthly decline in bone density at a rate of 1%-2%, a phenomenon still largely unresolved. Scientists are focusing on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), cells responsible for building bone tissue, whose abnormal behavior in microgravity may contribute to bone loss. Crucially, researchers suspect a protein called IL-6 is the culprit. The earlier MABL-A mission found that microgravity enhances IL-6 signaling, accelerating bone breakdown.
This experiment will utilize specialized culture vessels to culture cells for 19 days aboard the space station. Astronauts will periodically collect samples and ultimately bring them back to Earth for analysis. Successfully blocking the IL-6 pathway could not only provide bone protection for astronauts on long-term missions to the Moon and Mars, but also address a critical shortcoming of space medicine: the lack of timely treatment for emergencies like sudden fractures when far from Earth.
Notably, this research could benefit hundreds of millions of osteoporosis patients worldwide. Scientists point out that understanding the mechanism of action of IL-6 could potentially lead to a new generation of anti-aging bone disease treatments, with implications beyond the aerospace field, serving as a bridge between space exploration and terrestrial medicine. As humanity accelerates its deep space exploration, this type of cross-disciplinary research is demonstrating unprecedented value.
