In 2021, in a groundbreaking milestone for regenerative medicine and space exploration, scientists from Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine 3D-printed human liver tissue that functioned for 30 days in the lab.
This achievement earned them the top two prizes in NASA’s Vascular Tissue Challenge, a competition launched to push the limits of bioengineering by creating thick, vascularized human tissue capable of surviving in vitro conditions.
The first-place team, Winston, not only secured $300,000 but also the chance to continue their research aboard the International Space Station.
Their tissue models include engineered channels to replicate blood vessels, allowing for the flow of nutrients and oxygen without leakage—a critical hurdle in tissue viability.
This advance holds promise not just for Earth-based medicine but also for the future of space exploration. As NASA prepares for longer missions to the Moon and Mars, understanding how engineered tissues behave in microgravity and radiation-rich environments could help protect astronaut health. Organ analogs, like those developed in this challenge, may one day be used to test spaceflight effects or even support deep-space healthcare. While there are still many unknowns, this pioneering work marks a pivotal step in transforming how we think about human biology, both on and off our planet.
