Adelaide's cancer cells went to the edge of space — and came home safely

On 1 October, at 8:51 in the morning, a German sounding rocket called MAPHEUS-17 lifted off from the Esrange Space Center in Sweden carrying unusual passengers: human stem cells from Adelaide University's Centre for Cancer Biology. The rocket climbed about 300 kilometres (186 miles) — well past the edge of space — giving the cells at least seven minutes of weightlessness before bringing them safely back to Earth. The mission, led by South Australian company Cambrian Defence & Space with partners SSC Space and Blue Dwarf Space, is a first for Australian cancer research. Now the cells are back in Adelaide, where scientists will read how weightlessness changed them — hunting for clues about how cancer progresses, and how it might be spotted earlier. Sometimes the best way to understand how cells behave on Earth is to take them somewhere gravity lets go.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation