The National Stem Cell Foundation is bringing together cells derived from patients across three countries to study neurodegenerative disease at the population level and investigate potential therapeutic responses
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 14, 2026) — The National Stem Cell Foundation (NSCF), a leading funder of space-based brain organoid research to fight neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s, primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), and Alzheimer’s, announced the launch of its seventh mission to the International Space Station (ISS) carrying the first Cosmic Organoid Villages.™
The payload, which launched yesterday on board SpaceX’s 35th Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-35), is set to arrive to the space station Thursday at 11 a.m. ET. The 30-day experiment will grow cell lines from multiple patients with the same disease within single organoids to better replicate disease variability across a patient population. The research aims to improve therapeutic targeting and accelerate the development of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
“Diseases like Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis are different from one person to the next. By bringing cell lines from multiple people with the same disease together in a single organoid, we can study those differences at the population level, not just one person at a time. That gives us a more meaningful way to model disease and moves us closer to clinical trials in a dish,” says Dr. Paula Grisanti, CEO of NSCF.
Cell interactions can be observed in space in ways not possible on Earth, opening a door to the discovery of new therapeutic options for these diseases. The payload includes cells from people with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and PPMS from the U.S. and, for the first time on an NSCF mission, from collaborators in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. After samples return to Earth, researchers will examine whether disease-related cell behavior and potential therapeutic responses differ across the samples.
“Across our first six missions, we’ve seen overlapping gene networks appear again and again in microgravity. Growing cells from many patients together in one organoid lets us ask whether those patterns hold across a population, and whether people with the same disease respond differently to potential treatments,” said Dr. Scott Noggle, NSCF Senior Scientific Advisor.
This flight adds to NSCF’s record of firsts in space-based stem cell research and enabling technologies, from developing the cryovial technology now widely adopted by the space community, first to fly organoids with microglia, first to publish on accelerated cell maturation in space, and most recently, showing neurodegeneration-related gene network changes in space.
“People sometimes ask what space has done for them lately. This mission is part of the answer. Changing a research paradigm takes vision and courage, and moving from studying one patient at a time to studying a population in a single payload is that kind of change,” says Jana Stoudemire, Chief Commercial Officer for Innovian Space and NSCF Space Program Advisor.
The project has received $5.3 million in funding through a NASA InSPA award made to organizations like NSCF with significant flight experience and a clear path forward to commercialization. The Commonwealth of Kentucky has contributed another $520,000 in matching support.
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About the National Stem Cell Foundation
The National Stem Cell Foundation is a non-profit organization that funds adult stem cell and regenerative medicine research, underwrites a professional development program for middle school science teachers inspiring the next generation of STEM pioneers nationwide, and covers copays and deductibles for children participating in clinical trials for rare diseases when those out-of-pocket costs are beyond a family’s means. For more information, visit www.nationalstemcellfoundation.org.
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