Delta Biosciences and the European Space Agency to launch a landmark space medicine mission to the ISS in 2026

The mission aims to validate Delta Biosciences' hypothesis on radioprotective medicines and radiation-resistant excipients to increase the shelf-life of medical payloads

Vilnius, April 28, 2025, –

Delta Biosciences, a Lithuania-based chemistry company developing space medicine solutions, and the European Space Agency (ESA), will launch a mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to validate radioprotective pharmaceuticals and radio-resistant additives (excipients) that extend the shelf-life of other medicines.

This long-term mission, scheduled to launch in early 2026 and set to run for almost three years to correspond to a timeline of humanity's first trip to Mars, will collect data on how space radiation degrades a selection of Delta Biosciences' proprietary, partner, and generic molecules. These radioprotective molecules could safeguard astronauts and vital payloads on long-duration deep space missions. The endeavor marks a significant milestone for both Lithuania's fast-emerging space industry, the wider CEE region, and the global space medicine sector, becoming the first industrial life sciences mission of its kind.

"This mission reinforces Lithuania's ambition to become a leader in deep tech and innovation. Such cooperation creates significant added value and strengthens Lithuania's position as an advanced country in the global market. It once again proves that investments in science, talent, and the innovation ecosystem in Lithuania are delivering real results," says Minister of Economy and Innovation, Lukas Savickas.

Advancing Beyond the State-of-the-Art

ESA sees this mission as a crucial step in addressing pharmaceutical stability in extreme environments. According to Dr. Angelique Van Ombergen, ESA's Chief Exploration Scientist, "Research activities like this are important for enabling human spaceflight. We must constantly push the boundaries of research that offers the opportunity to support our astronauts and advance medical knowledge. Experiments assessing how medication is impacted by the space environment are limited so far, and this experiment will provide new insights for ESA and the wider space community into how we can protect astronauts and extend the shelf life of medications in space, a key requirement for long-term missions beyond Low Earth Orbit."

"We are inspired by ESA's drive to advance applicable scientific solutions to enable a new era in human exploration, and are privileged to support ESA on this endeavor," said Dominykas Milašius, Delta Biosciences' Co-Founder. "Medicines are designed with terrestrial logic, but space changes everything. Radiation, extreme temperatures, and the lack of resupply push pharmaceuticals to their limits. We are a chemistry company for the new space age, rethinking space medicine from first principles. This mission builds in the logic of radiation resistance and extended efficacy for astronauts into pharmaceutical development, and its outcomes will also benefit cancer patients, emergency crews, and complex resupply operations on Earth."

The Challenge: Hard to Reach, Impossible to Resupply

One of the biggest hurdles in human space exploration is radiation exposure. Unlike on Earth, where the atmosphere and magnetic field provide some protection, astronauts in low Earth orbit (LEO) and deeper space face constant exposure to galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events. These high-energy particles not only threaten human health and increase the risk of cancer and other diseases, but also degrade the very medications meant to protect against them, sometimes releasing toxic byproducts previously unregistered on Earth.

"Space is an unforgiving environment, and as we prepare for deep space exploration missions, we need to ensure that essential medications remain both effective and safe," said Dr. Christiane Hahn, ESA's Science Lead for Biology at the Directorate of Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration Programmes. "This experiment will provide critical data on how pharmaceuticals degrade under space radiation and offer insights for countermeasure development for maintaining astronaut health on long-duration missions."

From Lab to Orbit: Advancing Medicine for the Deep-Space Exploration

The experiment will test dozens of carefully selected molecules across two distinct locations aboard the ISS, each with different levels of radiation exposure. By retrieving samples every eight months and analyzing them against ground-based controls, the team will create a uniquely detailed degradation profile of these compounds in real space conditions.

Radioprotective medicines are key to mitigating radiation damage, but their long-term stability in space conditions is still poorly understood. Dr. Donatas Žmuidinavičius, Chief Technology Officer at Delta Biosciences, emphasized the importance of this research: "We are exposing a diverse selection of medicinal compounds to the real space radiation aboard the ISS for an extended period of time. The data we gather will validate our own countermeasures and will also guide the development of other pharmaceuticals that can last longer in extreme environments, including remote areas on Earth. Because of the mission's importance, we've extended partnership invitations to notable radiation and space medicine researchers worldwide, including centers in Europe, the United States, and Japan."

Global Collaboration and Lithuania's Contribution to the Future of Exploration

With experiment preparations in full swing, Delta Biosciences and its partners are ensuring that every aspect of the experiment, from compound selection to post-flight analysis, is designed to yield the highest-quality data.

"Space exploration is a global effort, and so is the challenge of keeping astronauts healthy," said Onė Mikulskytė, Space Researcher at Delta Biosciences. "The success of future missions—whether to the Moon, Mars, or beyond—depends on healthy astronauts and effective medicines that can withstand space conditions. By working with ESA and international partners, we are laying the groundwork for a future where no mission is limited by the availability of safe, effective treatments in space."

This mission also stands as a testament to Lithuania's growing influence in the space sector and its commitment to scientific excellence. "This experiment is a step forward not just for Delta Biosciences but for Lithuania as a space nation," said Eglė Elena Šataitė, head of SpaceHub at Innovation Agency Lithuania. "It demonstrates that our country has the scientific expertise, the vision, and the capability to contribute to cutting-edge research that advances overall space exploration efforts. It also shows how our continuous collaboration with ESA and efforts to motivate our industry to find solutions to new space challenges can bear results that are relevant to the global space industry."

By investigating how radiation alters critical medicines, the team is taking an essential step toward making deep-space exploration safer—and bringing space-age chemistry innovations back to Earth.

About Delta Biosciences

Delta Biosciences is a chemistry company developing next-generation pharmaceuticals and materials for extreme environments. With a strong foundation in life sciences, Delta Biosciences combines computational modeling, advanced synthesis techniques, and high-throughput screening to design stable chemical solutions for applications in medicinal and space chemistry, and radiation protection. The company is committed to pushing the boundaries of astrochemistry and ensuring that human spaceflight is both safer and more sustainable.

Media Contact:

Dominykas Milašius
info@deltabiosciences.com
Delta Biosciences