SEOUL, South Korea — November 26, 2025 — Leads & Copy —
A research team led by Chan Hum Park, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of Otolaryngology at Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital and Director of the Nano-Bio Regenerative Medical Institute at Hallym University, will launch its BioCabinet aboard the Nuri rocket on November 27. The launch is part of a mission carrying the Next-Generation Medium Satellite-3.
The BioCabinet is a research platform that features a bio 3D printer and stem cell differentiation incubator designed to fabricate artificial heart tissue and evaluate disease responses in space. It will operate for 60 days and can be extended up to one year.
The payload includes two modules: the first will observe the beating and contraction of cardiac tissue 3D-printed from induced pluripotent stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes; the second will evaluate blood vessel differentiation using tonsil-derived stem cells, which are suited for terrestrial and space studies.
The BioCabinet is expected to generate core data for organ fabrication and cardiovascular research in space. The mission marks South Korea’s first acquisition of biological tissue data under environmental variables, such as pressure, temperature, and radiation.
Space research overcomes limitations on Earth, where gravity hinders 3D tissue formation. In microgravity, cells grow naturally into 3D structures, and drug crystallization improves, enabling the production of high-purity anticancer compounds. Data on artificial heart-beating from the study will assist in developing cardiovascular drugs.
Professor Park is expanding space bioengineering research based on the BioCabinet platform and is developing BioRexs, a drug-screening platform, slated for launch in 2027, that will culture glioblastoma in space and evaluate the efficacy of anticancer drugs. He also leads the BioLiv project, which aims to 3D-print and culture artificial liver tissue in space and return it to Earth for transplantation, expected to become the world’s first non-clinical study using a space-fabricated artificial organ.
Follow-up space bioengineering projects such as BioFactory, BioDeep, BioLunar, and BioMars are also underway.
Professor Park emphasized the importance of national investment. He stated that conducting research in outer space is about creating technologies that shape the future, not about pursuing short-term profit. This mission represents Korea’s first step into space-based bioengineering, establishing the nation’s foundation for biological tissue 3D printing research, and verifying stem cell survival and cardiac tissue formation in space.
Contact:
Chan Hum Park, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Otolaryngology at Hallym University Chuncheon Sacred Heart Hospital and Director of the Nano-Bio Regenerative Medical Institute at Hallym University
Source: Hallym University
