U of L lab collaborates with Canadian Space Agency on extraterrestrial biomanufacturing project

On Aug. 19, officials say two identical payloads were launched from a base in Timmins, ON as part of the STRATOS ICARUS 2026 campaign. Included on those payloads, say university officials, were bioreagents prepared by the Willi Lab, including master’s student Roza Gabdullina and MITACS Globalink student Valeria Angulo Villa, who the institution says spent the summer assembling, freeze-drying and testing bioreactions for ET-bio.

“The project may sound sci-fi, but it builds real-world skills,” says Willi, who supervised the students. “The young researchers learn hands-on how to operate specialized freeze-dryers, how to work as a team, and how to think scientifically. And of course, all while working towards the launch deadline.”

University officials say prototype development of the payload rack to secure the precious ET-bio samples was done at the Agility makerspace. Officials say the stratosphere provides a near-space environment ideal for testing and validating new technologies. Once the payloads were recovered in the Northern Ontario wilderness, they were shipped back to Lethbridge for testing. Officials say the Willi lab will now determine whether they survived the harsh stratospheric exposure and interpret the telemetric measurements.

“Working on the ET-bio project as a team has given me the opportunity to contribute to testing what conditions are best suited for freeze-drying cell-free systems,” says Gabdullina. “This work is especially valuable to me because lyophilization is also a potential future step in my master’s research, where I hope to move toward a more stable and portable cell-free diagnostic platform.”

For Angulo Villa, say ULethbridge officials, her focus for the project was on evaluating and optimizing different protectants to improve reaction stability.

“This work has given me hands-on experience in experimental design, optimization and biological system development, while also strengthening my problem-solving and technical skills.”

The university says while ET-bio is developed for human space exploration, it will also benefit Canadians living in remote and rural areas with limited access to cold chain delivery of medicines.

by LNN Staff

U of L lab collaborates with Canadian Space Agency on extraterrestrial biomanufacturing project

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