Why is it in the news?

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) have signed an agreement to design and conduct biotechnology experiments for integration into the planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), India’s proposed indigenous space station.
• This space station project, the BAS, is projected to be developed between 2028 and 2035.

More about the news

• The biotechnology experiments aim to study various health impacts in space, including how weightlessness affects muscle loss, the types of algae that could serve as nutrition or food preservation aids, and methods to process certain algae into jet fuel.
• Researchers also plan to assess the effects of space radiation on human health in space station environments.
• Ahead of the BAS, ISRO’s major upcoming project is the Gaganyaan mission, India’s first crewed space mission, targeted for launch in 2025-2026.
• Prior to the crewed mission, ISRO will conduct three uncrewed test missions, and some biology-related experiments could potentially be included in these preliminary tests.
• ISRO Chairman S. Somanath indicated that the specifics are still under consideration but that the BAS remains the primary platform for these experiments.
• This ISRO-DBT collaboration is linked to the Department of Biotechnology’s recent BIOE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment, and Employment) policy, which promotes bio-manufacturing in India with a projected $300 billion bio-economy by 2030.

The agreement is expected to spur advancements in human health research, novel pharmaceuticals, regenerative medicine, and bio-based waste management technologies, benefiting multiple start-ups and contributing to India’s space bio-manufacturing sector.