A Concept of Biopharmaceutical Nanosatellite

Abstract

The article is a short overview of a proposal of a CubeSat type nanosatellite designed to conduct biopharmaceutical tests on the low earth orbit. Motivations behind the emerging demand for such solution nowadays and in the close future are emphasized. The possible objectives and challenges to be addressed in the planned biopharmaceutical CubeSat missions are discussed. In particular, it is hard to imagine progress of the space tourism and colonization of Moon and Mars without a wide-ranging development of pharmaceutics dedicated to be used in space. Finally, an exemplary layout of a 3U type CubeSat is presented. We underline that, thanks to recent development in both nanosatellite technologies and lab-on-a-chip type biofluidic systems, the proposed idea becomes now both feasible and relatively affordable.