}as space exploration intensifies with renewed focus on lunar missions and ambitions for Mars, ensuring the health and safety of astronauts becomes increasingly critical. Researchers in Berlin have achieved a meaningful milestone in addressing this challenge: a newly developed 3D printer,created through a collaboration between the Berlin Institute of Health and Cellbricks,can now produce biological skin patches capable of treating burns and abrasions even in the weightlessness of space. Initial testing in zero-gravity conditions during parabolic flights, detailed in the journal Advanced Science, demonstrates the potential of this technology to revolutionize both space medicine and burn treatment here on Earth.
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22.01.2026 14:01
3D-Printed Skin Patches Show Promise for Astronaut Wound Care – and Beyond
Researchers at the Berlin Institute of Health in the Charité (BIH) have collaborated with Cellbricks to develop a 3D printer capable of creating biological skin patches. This technology aims to provide a customized solution for closing large wounds and could offer a valuable alternative to traditional skin grafts, both on Earth and in the unique medical challenges of space travel. The team recently tested the printer’s functionality in zero gravity during parabolic flights. Their findings were published in Advanced Science.
As space agencies worldwide renew their focus on lunar missions and private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin set their sights on Mars, ensuring the health and safety of astronauts is paramount. A key challenge is providing adequate medical care during long-duration spaceflights, where access to Earth-based clinical resources is limited. Researchers have now successfully tested a 3D printer in zero gravity that can create biological wound dressings to treat extensive burns and abrasions, with results published in Advanced Science.
Treating burns effectively remains a significant medical hurdle, even with current standards of care. Burns often penetrate deep tissue layers and cover large areas, leading to prolonged healing times and increased risk of infection. Currently, the gold standard treatment involves skin grafting, but this procedure can have complications. “Unfortunately, scarring often occurs during both the harvesting and transplantation processes, which is unsatisfactory for both doctors and patients,” explained Professor Georg Duda, the study’s last author and Director of the Julius Wolff Institute for Biomechanics and Musculoskeletal Regeneration at BIH. Seeking a better solution, the researchers partnered with Cellbricks, which provided the technical foundation for 3D printing, while the research team focused on developing the biological “ink.”
The 3D printer uses a specialized ink composed of living skin cells and a modified gelatin that hardens when exposed to UV light, according to Bianca Lemke, the study’s first author and a doctoral candidate under Professor Duda. The process, known as Digital Light Processing (DLP), builds the bioprint layer by layer, guided by UV light. “The consistency of the print is similar to a gummy bear,” Lemke said. “The technology also allows for the incorporation of small channels, potentially enabling the integration of blood vessels.”
These 3D-printed skin patches offer a rapid solution: printing takes a maximum of one hour, regardless of wound size. The patches can also be personalized by using a patient’s own skin or stem cells to create the bio-ink. This level of customization could significantly improve treatment outcomes and reduce the risk of rejection.
“A personalized solution for burn wounds would be particularly valuable for astronauts on the International Space Station or during missions to Mars,” said Georg Duda. “This led to a question at a symposium hosted by the German Aerospace Center (DLR): could 3D bioprinting be utilized for space travel?” To investigate, the BIH researchers tested the printer in parabolic flight to determine if it could function effectively in zero gravity. Specifically, they assessed whether the liquid ink could be printed as accurately as on Earth, if the gelatin hardened correctly, and if the skin cells remained evenly distributed.
The tests demonstrated stable printing capabilities throughout the parabolic flight, even under fluctuating gravitational forces. During a parabolic flight, gravity levels rapidly change from zero gravity (0G) to Earth gravity (1G) and even up to 1.8 times Earth’s gravity (hypergravity). “Zero gravity would theoretically provide ideal conditions because no forces act on the print,” Lemke explained. “However, these conditions only last for 21 seconds per parabola, so we investigated how robust the print is under rapidly changing gravitational conditions.”
The results showed that the bioprint maintained its accuracy and cell viability – the percentage of living skin cells successfully incorporated into the patch – throughout the flight. The distribution of cells did vary, however, with cells concentrating on one side of the print during phases of hypergravity. Lemke noted that this is an area for further improvement, but is likely due to the conditions of the parabolic flight. In true zero gravity, the cells should distribute evenly. The researchers are confident that if the printer functions under such extreme conditions, it will perform reliably in the weightlessness of space.
“With these printing results, we could one day offer astronauts personalized wound care and significantly improve burn treatment for patients on Earth,” said Georg Duda. “Although there is still a long way to go.”
Original publication:
Lemke B, et al., Duda G. Gravity-Tolerant In-Flight 3D Bioprinting Enabled by Stereolithography for Space Tissue Engineering. Advanced Science (2026). DOI: 10.1002/advs.202520715
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