--- title: "Uganda’s New Satellite Contains Equipment to 3D Print Human Tissue in Orbit" description: "With the help of NASA and Japan, Uganda has officially become a spacefaring nation — and its newly-launched PearlAfricaSat-1 craft has some pretty nifty tech onboard. As the Uganda-based Nile Post reports, the satellite launched out of NASA's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport facility in Virginia on the morning of November 7 will not only provide important […]" date: "2022-11-13" modified: "2022-11-13" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/ugandas-satellite-3d-printing-human-tissue" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Prosthetics and Devices" tags: - "3D printed organs" - "3d printing" - "bioprinting" - "Microgravity" --- # Uganda’s New Satellite Contains Equipment to 3D Print Human Tissue in Orbit ![Uganda has officially become a spacefaring nation — and its newly-launched satellite has tech that can 3D print human tissue on board.]() *\Image: BIRDS-5\* With the help of NASA and Japan, Uganda has officially become a spacefaring nation — and its newly-launched PearlAfricaSat-1 craft has some pretty nifty tech onboard. As the [Uganda-based *Nile Post* reports](), the satellite launched out of NASA's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport facility in Virginia on the morning of November 7 will not only provide important agricultural and security monitoring features for the developing nation, but will also conduct experiments involving the 3D printing of human tissue. Per the Ugandan news site, the tissues printed on PearlAfricaSat-1 will be used in research into the effects microgravity has on ovary function — and as [*Quartz* notes in its write-up]() of the NASA and Japan-supported mission, the microgravity aspect of the experiments is key because "bioprinting" human organs is difficult to achieve with Earth's gravity. While bioprinting — or 3D printing human tissues and organs — has [been a reality since 2014](), it's exceptionally difficult to do so on Earth because it requires complex scaffolding to create the intricate tissue structures of human parts. The weightlessness of space, however, eliminates the need for such scaffolding, *Quartz* notes. This isn't the first time bioprinting equipment has been sent into the microgravity of Earth's orbit — [Russia became the first to do so]() in 2018 when it sent bioprinting machinery up to the International Space Station and began conducting experiments in printing human tissue, and at the end of 2021, [NASA also sent up a bioprinter]() to the ISS on a SpaceX cargo resupply mission. PearlAfricaSat-1 will briefly be stored on the ISS before being released into orbit later this year. **More on synthetic humanism:** [*First Ever Humans Injected With Synthetic, Lab-Grown Blood*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()