--- title: "Startup Wants to Use Robots to Make Drugs in Space" description: "A startup co-founded by a SpaceX alum plans to jumpstart the future of space manufacturing with its orbital pharmaceutical lab run by robots." date: "2023-03-17" modified: "2023-03-17" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/varda-space-startup-spacex" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" - "Space" tags: - "pharmaceuticals" - "satellites" - "space manufacturing" - "SpaceX" --- # Startup Wants to Use Robots to Make Drugs in Space ![A startup co-founded by a SpaceX alum plans to jumpstart the future of space manufacturing with its orbital pharmaceutical lab run by robots.]() *\Image: Varda\* A startup co-founded by a SpaceX alum, plans to jumpstart the future of space manufacturing with its orbital pharmaceutical lab — which will be run by robots. As [*Bloomberg* notes]() in a profile on the Los Angeles-based Varda Space Industries, the biggest thing going for Varda's gambit is the fact that in microgravity, atoms, and molecules behave differently. That's why space-bound manufacturing presents a unique opportunity to synthesize chemicals and drugs that aren't available on Earth. "We have built a unique way to manipulate chemical systems," Varda co-founder and CEO Will Bruey told *Bloomberg*. "And the most expensive chemical systems on Earth are drugs. We knew that making them in space was the killer app of microgravity." Unlike the human-oriented lab on board the International Space Station, Varda's robot lab capsule is at its widest point about three feet across. It's intended to make prototypes to be delivered back to Earth rather than making entire industrial-sized batches in space. https://twitter.com/VardaSpace/status/1615865649003102213 The company is planning to have its robots work on possible treatments for cancer, diabetes, and chronic pain. As the report notes, Varda's "manufacturing satellite" is scheduled to [make its maiden voyage on board a SpaceX rocket]() in June alongside "dozens" of other satellites. This initial launch will test if the company's capsules can survive the fiery reentry through the Earth's atmosphere, which is no easy feat, especially with complex chemicals on board. But Varda is confident in its product. "We are able to do world-class chemistry," Varda co-founder Delian Asparouhov told *Bloomberg*. "We are not just aerospace jackwagons." **More on space:** [*NASA Debuts Its Brand New Sci-Fi-Inspired Moonsuit — But It's a Rental*]() ## 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]()