A few weeks ago, a technical session was held at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, in preparation for the APHRODITE experiment to be conducted on board the International Space Station. Professor Mara Mirasoli and her research team at the Tecnopolo di Rimini supported ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot in a meeting dedicated to familiarisation with the analytical device developed by a team from the “Giacomo Ciamician” Department of Chemistry at the University of Bologna, the School of Aerospace Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome, and Kayser Italia Srl.
Professor Mirasoli, you recently presented the device in Cologne: how did the familiarisation session with astronaut Sophie Adenot go?
The technical session at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne was a very positive and fundamental moment. We assisted ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot during a familiarisation session for the analytical device, providing a practical demonstration of the instrument's operation ahead of its deployment on the International Space Station. This was a key step in preparing the APHRODITE experiment.
Chemistry and engineering are intrinsically linked: how did you manage to translate a complex laboratory protocol into a compact, safe instrument suitable for the critical conditions found in space?
The APHRODITE project demonstrates how closely interconnected chemistry and engineering are. The team's work enabled the translation of complex laboratory protocols into a compact, reliable system capable of meeting the stringent operational and safety requirements of space missions. This result was made possible through the support of the Italian Space Agency, the integration of highly specialised expertise, and a synergistic collaboration between academia and industry spanning multiple disciplinary fields. In particular, the achievement of the objective is the result of the joint work of the "Giacomo Ciamician" Department of Chemistry, the School of Aerospace Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome and Kayser Italia Srl.
The heart of APHRODITE is lab-on-chip technology: what are the biggest scientific challenges your team has overcome to ensure accurate diagnostic analyses in the absence of gravity?
The main challenge was to develop a system based on lab-on-chip technology capable of performing diagnostic analyses directly in orbit, in an environment characterised by microgravity and extremely stringent operating constraints. The device has been designed to ensure high levels of accuracy, reliability and safety, overcoming the difficulties of adapting chemical analyses to a space environment. In particular, it was necessary to integrate the analytical protocols developed by the Ciamician Department group with a microfluidic and electronic platform specially designed to operate in microgravity conditions, the result of a collaboration with the School of Aerospace Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome. This integration required intensive joint optimisation work between chemical components, materials and control systems. A fundamental requirement that guided the design was to maximise the saving of resources available on board the International Space Station. As with terrestrial applications, one of the main challenges is to reduce material consumption and waste production, limiting resource waste. For this reason, the device was developed with reusability in mind: analyses are performed on the same platform by simply replacing the reagents required to identify the target analytes.
How crucial was access to the Tecnopolo di Rimini’s infrastructure and laboratories in ensuring the experiment met the project’s rigorous standards?
The contribution of the Tecnopolo di Rimini was decisive. Thanks to its advanced infrastructure and laboratories dedicated to research and innovation in analytical chemistry, the Ciamician Department played a key role in developing analysis protocols, providing scientific and operational requirements for device design, and testing its performance. These skills and facilities made it possible to prepare an experiment that met the required standards for space missions.
Following the session in Cologne, what are the next phases of the project?
After the familiarisation session in Cologne, the project is entering a crucial phase of preparation for the experiment to be carried out on board the International Space Station. The activities will continue with the coordination of the Italian Space Agency, with the aim of completing the operational preparation of the APHRODITE system for its use in orbit. On 13 February, with the launch of Crew 12 from Cape Canaveral, astronaut Sophie Adenot and the APHRODITE device reached the International Space Station and are ready to carry out the first experiment in the next days.
Info on the research team supporting Prof. Mirasoli: Department of Chemistry "Giacomo Ciamician"
Professors Massimo Guardigli, Martina Zangheri and Donato Calabria supported Professor Mirasoli in the design of the analytical device, contributing their expertise in the development of biospecific assays using chemiluminescence detection to identify analytes of chemical and clinical relevance in biological samples. A key contribution to the experimental development of the analyses was made by PhD students Seyedeh Rojin Shariati Pour and Afsaneh Emamiamin.
School of Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome: The group led by Prof. Augusto Nascetti contributed through the design and production of the lab-on-chip device (microfluidic and optoelectronic platform) that implements the analytical protocols developed by UNIBO. The group also oversaw control and data acquisition systems, the development of software used on board the International Space Station, and participated in integration and validation activities to ensure compatibility with mission requirements. The chip was manufactured with the contribution of the group led by Prof. Domenico Caputo (Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications, Sapienza University of Rome), which is in charge of thin-film microfabrication processes for the lab-on-chip.
Kayser Italia Srl: Kayser Italia S.r.l. is a leading company in the aerospace systems engineering sector based in Livorno, specialising in the design, development and testing of instruments for scientific research in microgravity. It has contributed to over 80 space missions, with more than 120 payloads launched into orbit. The company contributed to the Aphrodite project by overseeing the space-qualification process and the manufacturing of the flight hardware.
The ASI funded and supported the project both directly and through industrial support provided by ALTEC SpA under the “UTISS 3” contract; support mainly concerned interaction with NASA for the integration of the experiment on board the ISS, in particular the management of safety reviews.
