BOSTON (WHDH) – A Boston-based research group is using the Artemis II astronauts’ mission to the moon to study the effects that being in space has on the human body, and how that could potentially lead to custom medical treatments for astronauts during long-term trips.
NASA, Harvard University, and a Boston-based biotech company have partnered to study the impact of space radiation and microgravity on red and white blood cells.
Dr. David Chou is the principal researcher involved with the project at the Wyss Institute at Harvard. He said before takeoff, each of the four astronauts donated blood and platelets to grow bone marrow. Researchers then created thumbdrive-sized samples from each astronaut.
“We have one set that is currently on board Orion, coming back to Earth soon, and we have another set that is on the ground, just sitting on a table at the Kennedy Space Center,” Chou said. “By comparing the ground versus the flight, we will be able to tell what are the changes that resulted from that chip going around the moon and back.”
In 2026, scientists do not know a great amount about the impact of deep space travel on astronauts, and Chou said he hopes data from this trip will open doors to learn more. He said one of the goals of this mission is to figure out how to design custom medical treatments for astronauts while they are in space, which could in turn help change medications used on Earth.
“We could potentially send many of these types of organ chips,” he said. “We could get data on how the human body functions in space, much, much faster than if you had to study individual people sent up.”
Chou said the astronauts were happy to be part of their research.
“They are very selfless and they recognize the historic moment they are helping make possible,” he said.
Chou is in San Diego for the splashdown where he will take another blood sample from the astronauts. The samples will then be brought back to Boston to be analyzed.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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