Lenkova on medical experiments in space and future of medicine

Marina Vasilevskaya, a Belarusian participant of the space flight, crew commander Oleg Novitsky and American NASA flight engineer Tracy Dyson are setting off to the ISS today. During their talk with journalists, a member of the backup crew, Belarusian Anastasia Lenkova – who worked as a paediatric surgeon before she began preparing for the flight – explained how space research can help medicine on Earth.

“A lot of research is being carried out at the International Space Station. At this stage, a large share of the programme – up to 40 percent – is devoted to studies in medicine and biology. This is a large volume of the scientific programme, and most of it is fundamental. Therefore, it is too early to talk about the application of its results in the near future. We have discussed 4D bioprinting, I think these are the issues of the coming 5-10 years, when we will be able to really print various tissues, structures, and parts of organs. I would really like to be engaged into this process in the future, and I plan to do this,” Ms. Lenkova said.