Astronauts have manufactured a human knee meniscus on the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time in history, Space reports.
They printed the knee meniscus on a 3D printer in cooperation with Redwire.
This will improve the treatment of knee joint problems that are common in military personnel and the elderly.
“The meniscus has already been analyzed on Earth after SpaceX Crew-6 astronauts returned it on September 4.”
John Wellinger, vice president of Redwire.
In addition, the production of objects in space has some advantages, for example, microgravity conditions deform products under the influence of the Earth’s gravity, which makes their shape more accurate.
Redwire has 10 research facilities operating on the ISS and plans to conduct more new research. In November 2023, the company will send several pharmaceutical cargoes during the SpaceX Dragon mission to conduct an experiment on bioprinting of heart tissue.
