Humanity’s looming ambition to colonize the Moon and Mars faces one major obstacle: our ability to reproduce beyond Earth. While we’re nowhere near making space babies just yet, now may be the time to begin understanding the exact risks of trying. An experiment aboard the Chinese space station could help provide some answers.
China launched embryo-like structures made from living human stem cells to its Tiangong space station for a first-of-its-kind experiment. The artificial embryos flew on board the Tianzhou-10 cargo craft on May 10 and spent around five days in low-Earth orbit to replicate the early development phase that comes after fertilization.
Orbital baby making
The experiment, led by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is designed to test the effects of the microgravity environment on early human embryonic development.
The artificial embryos include two types of models that represent different phases of embryonic development. The first set of samples was cultured on uterine cells to recreate the critical stage of when an embryo attaches itself to the uterine wall. The other samples were placed inside a microfluidic chip, which mimics the point when a single layer of cells reorganizes itself to different layers that eventually form tissues and organs.
“The human artificial embryo is made of human stem cells as raw materials,” Yu Leqian, the project leader for the experiment, said in a statement. “This is not a real human embryo and does not have the ability to develop into an individual. However, it can serve as a model for studying early human development.”
Each embryo was kept in its own chamber within a culture container. The embryos were allowed to develop for a period of five days before they were frozen. The samples will then be returned to Earth for analysis. Meanwhile on Earth, identical samples were also being studied inside a lab to compare how the space embryos fared in the microgravity environment.
“We hope that by comparing the development of space and ground samples, we can identify the factors affecting early human embryonic growth in the space environment, and address the risks and challenges humans may face during long-term space habitation,” Yu said.
Human colonies
The period of embryo development that took place on board the Chinese space station corresponds with roughly 14 to 21 days after fertilization. This crucial window is when human organs begin to form, and any abnormality that takes place during that period has an effect on the development of the fetus.
Although no one has attempted to make babies in space before, previous research has suggested that the harsh environment could have a negative impact on human reproduction. Cosmic radiation and microgravity can damage reproductive cells and interfere with the development of the embryo.
To help mitigate those negative effects, scientists need to learn more about the risks of reproducing beyond Earth. The recent experiment will hopefully help in filling some of those knowledge gaps so that humans are better prepared for the birds and the bees talk on another planet.
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