Despite regular exercise, astronauts lose a lot of muscle during their missions. British researchers are trying to discover how to prevent this in an unusual study.

Human muscle cells are being brought into space, including the International Space Station (ISS) by British researchers working on an experiment called MicroAge, Sky News. The muscle cells, which are scheduled to launch on Tuesday, will be delivered by US space company SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle, starting at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Extraordinary research aims to find out how people can live longer and healthier lives. To do this, muscle cells produced in the lab are sent to the conditions of space to see how they age and why. Muscle cells the size of a grain of rice are shipped in 3D-printed containers the same size as a sharpener.

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During space travel, muscle cells will be electrically stimulated to contract tissues. In the same way, some measurements will be made on Earth, and in January 2022, when the space samples return, researchers at the University of Liverpool will compare them with the results of Earth experiments. They hope the study will provide an answer as to why muscles weaken with age and what processes can help prevent it.

Professor Malcolm Jackson from the University of Liverpool Sky NewsKnack said every astronaut rides on space station trains for at least 2.5 hours a day. However, they lose a significant amount of muscle. This phenomenon, of course, affects the “terrestrial” man as well, as muscles lose weight automatically with age. This, in turn, can limit performance of daily tasks and increase the risk of falls and recovery time from injuries.

The warehouses required for the experiment were designed and built by Oxfordshire-based Kayser Space. They had to make a “cabin” in which the cells would survive strong vibrations, changes in temperature and the force of acceleration caused by travel.

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