Colorado-based Sierra Space is getting ready to launch its reusable space plane, Dream Chaser. | Image: Sierra Space
In The Andromeda Strain, Michael Crichton wrote about killer alien space crystals that are (spoiler alert) ultimately stymied by Earth’s breadth of pH values. In reality, crystals grown in space could be key to a new generation of cancer-fighting treatments that save lives, not threaten them.
Colorado-based startup Sierra Space is nearly ready to launch its reusable space plane, Dream Chaser. It’s set to carry into orbit a 3-D printed module designed by engineers at pharma giant Merck. If the test goes well, and if Dream Chaser’s gentle reentry process keeps that sensitive cargo safe, this could be the start of something big – despite those crystals being microscopic.
A brief history of space crystals
Space crystals sound like something an astrology guru would hang over their bed to help them sleep, but there’s real science here. According to the ISS National Lab, crystals grown in space are simply better: “Scientists hypothesize that these observed benefits result from a slower, more uniform movement of molecules into a crystalline lattice in microgravity.”
Research into monoclonal antibodies points towards crystallization as being key for developing more stable, subcutaneous …
