(September 24, 2024) – Today, global technology innovation catalyst Starburst announces the selection of the inaugural cohort of the Space-H Space Health Accelerator.
Space-H, a unique collaborative effort between Starburst, NASA’s Human Research Program (NASA HRP), the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH), Methuselah Foundation, and Microsoft, is dedicated to supporting emerging technology companies enabling the future of human spaceflight and next generation medical care here on Earth.
The twelve selected startups are building novel solutions across a wide range of topics. The inaugural year of Space-H is focused on the resilient, autonomous health and performance systems needed to support Lunar and Mars missions, as well as more extended stays in Low Earth Orbit by commercial space travelers. The selected solutions range from AI solutions to medical devices to therapeutics.
“Science accelerators are a great way to spur innovation and technical advancement,” explains Jancy McPhee, Associate Chief Scientist for NASA’s Human Research Program. “That’s why NASA’s so interested in science accelerators focused on space health–as the commercial space sector expands, more people from all walks of life will be going into space. We’re really looking for ideas that will push clinical care in space forward to meet the needs of a larger astronaut pool.”
The companies selected for Space-H are:
ANYg Bio (anyg.bio)
- ANYg Bio is building advanced biotech tools that work in any gravity. ANYg Labs’ product solves the problem of limited low-throughput bio-sample prep capabilities in space. ANYg Labs is redesigning the process of bio-sample prep for next-gen sequencing and applications that require purified nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA. This single platform will be able to function in space and on Earth.
Delta Biosciences (deltabiosciences.com)
- Delta Biosciences is on a mission to accelerate drug candidate discovery. Delta Biosciences’ proprietary technology for rapid compound evolution was used in Project Covid Moonshot, ESA research on radioprotective compounds, and a joint partnership with CERN. The company’s workflow identifies and optimizes small molecules with 20x resource efficiency and 10x screening capacity
Ejenta (ejenta.com)
- Ejenta has developed a dual-use platform for autonomous remote health monitoring, deployed at leading health providers across the US. Leveraging technology exclusively licensed from NASA, the Ejenta platform gathers data from connected devices, patient reported outcomes, and medical records to predict health outcomes and off-nominal conditions.
Esperto Medical (esperto.health)
- Esperto Medical is developing an accurate, wearable continuous vital sign monitor, solving a five-decades old problem related to measuring blood pressure without compression, cannulation, or calibration. Esperto combines the advanced metrics available with an arterial catheter with the ease of use of a blood pressure cuff, offering an unprecedented window into cardiovascular health.”
GattaCo (gattaco.com)
- GattaCo is an early-stage company offering unique, centrifuge-free solutions for pre-analytical sample collection and processing. GattaCo eliminates the challenges and errors associated with blood transport and enables clinical-quality results in Point of Care Tests by providing a high-purity clinical plasma sample.
Innsightful (innsightful.com)
- Innsightful provides an AI-based mental health monitoring solution using unobtrusive wearable technology. Innsightful addresses the mental and physical health challenges faced by astronauts during space missions, focusing on early detection and real-time management of stress, anxiety, and fatigue to enhance overall mission performance and well-being.
LinkGevity (linkgevity.com)
- LinkGevity’s pioneering Anti-Necrotic technology tackles necrosis, the unregulated death of cells and tissue that has long been a major obstacle in multifactorial and age-related disease as well as bioengineering, and cryopreservation. This breakthrough holds exciting potential for supporting long space missions, protecting astronaut health from environmental stress and accelerated aging.
Mitrix Bio (mitrix.bio)
- Mitrix is creating a new platform for regenerative medicine, using bioreactor-grown mitochondria. Mitochondria are an underlying factor in healing, aging and age-related diseases, and are easily and permanently transplanted from exogenous sources into cells. Transplantation into the body may be used to cure disease, rapidly heal wounds, and treat injuries such as infections or radiation illness.
Nahlia (nahlia.com)
- Nahlia is developing software to enable autonomous medical operations for future space missions. Nahlia’s Crew Health Integrated Medical Response Agent (CHIMERA) combines streams of environmental, crew, and mission data into a Bayesian AI active inference engine to enable human and machine crews to make life-saving decisions quickly and at scale, even without medical training.
NaNotics (nanotics.com)
- NaNotics is developing a novel method of treating serious diseases, both on Earth and in space, via depletion of pathogenic factors from blood, using injectable, adsorptive nanoparticles called “NaNots”. The technology can suppress tumors or treat deadly cytokine storms, depending on which molecules are depleted with NaNots. The company is collaborating with Mayo Clinic and Mass General Cancer Center, and has received 38 US and foreign patents to date.
Space REDI (spaceredi.com)
- Space REDI is a software company seeking to support companies responsible for sending people to the most dangerous places in the universe. Space Redi is addressing the lack of adequate risk management tools for human spaceflight due to the complex nature of space operations.
Synapsis Medical (synapsismedical.com)
- Synapsis Medical Technologies Inc. is pioneering advancements in cardiovascular health monitoring with a wearable hemodynamic monitor. Synapsis tackles the need for continuous, non-invasive, and precise cardiovascular monitoring both on Earth and in space, providing early detection and intervention for cardiovascular issues, improving health outcomes and astronaut well-being.
Advances in Space Health technology have the potential to greatly improve life on Earth as well, including the provision of healthcare in extreme environments and the development of biomedical solutions to diagnose and treat common diseases related to aging. The space environment dysregulates many biological systems, exacerbating many of the processes that parallel the aging phenomena on Earth. Many of the hallmarks of aging identified on Earth are observed, often in an accelerated form, during extended habitation in space. As the commercial space industry brings new people and new capabilities to the space sector, it presents opportunities to expand on critical regenerative medicine and longevity. These studies not only help in understanding fundamental biological processes but also in developing practical applications and therapies for aging-related health issues on Earth.
“The challenge of human exploration forces us all to innovate,” said Dorit Donoviel, Ph.D., TRISH Executive Director. “We look forward to supporting new ideas with the potential to protect humans in space and propel healthcare on Earth.”
The Space-H Space Health Accelerator will play a critical role in advancing the growing field of space health by supporting biotech and biomed entrepreneurs who are new to the space industry and facilitating the uptake of new space-capable commercial capabilities into NASA HRP.
About Starburst
Founded in 2012, Starburst is an innovation catalyst in the global Aerospace and Defense (A&D) industry. Combining three complementary activities–startup accelerators, strategy consulting, and venture investments–they help A&D stakeholders innovate, navigate and invest in the dynamic ecosystem. With offices in Los Angeles, Paris, Munich, Singapore, Seoul, Tel Aviv, Madrid, Washington D.C., and London, the team has built a robust community with 60+ partners and a portfolio of 150 startups. Starburst’s leading Flagship Accelerator program helps startups scale their business in aviation, space, and defense, as well as enabling technologies, with access to one of the largest groups of corporate representatives, government stakeholders, and private investors in the world to help startups win their first contracts. More information about Starburst can be found at www.starburst.aero.
About NASA HRP
NASA’s Human Research Program, or HRP, pursues the best methods and technologies to support safe, productive human space travel. Through science conducted in laboratories, ground-based analogs, and the International Space Station, HRP scrutinizes how spaceflight affects human bodies and behaviors. Such research drives HRP’s quest to innovate ways that keep astronauts healthy and mission-ready as space travel expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Learn more about HRP at www.nasa.gov/hrp
About TRISH
Led by Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Space Medicine, TRISH is a consortium that includes partners Caltech and MIT. NASA Human Research Program recently awarded the Institute a six-year extension to further its work by delivering disruptive solutions to mitigate biomedical risks for human exploration while advancing terrestrial health technologies. Learn more about TRISH at bcm.edu/spacehealth.
About Methuselah Foundatio
Methuselah Foundation is a biomedical charity established to incentivize scientific progress towards extending the healthy human lifespan. The foundation incubates and sponsors mission-critical ventures, scientific research, and competition prizes to accelerate breakthroughs in healthy human life extension. Learn more about Methuselah Foundation at www.mfoundation.org.
About Innsightful
Innsightful combines AI-based wearable technology and an advanced app to deliver immediate and long-term mental health management. The innovative wristband monitors anxiety and stress symptoms, providing personalized, real-time interventions through the Innsightful App. Designed by psychological health experts and trusted by top institutions, Innsightful offers a holistic approach to emotional wellness, making it a leader in personalized mental health solutions. For more information, please visit www.innsightful.com.