For the first time, kidney and liver tissue have been manufactured in space. The milestone came in June 2026, when the AMP-1 bioprinter, built by San Diego-based Auxilium Biotechnologies, produced living kidney, liver, and cartilage tissue, along with 28 nerve-repair implants, aboard the International Space Station.
The mission, designated AXLM-3 and flown aboard SpaceX CRS-34, marks a significant expansion of what is possible in orbital biomanufacturing. The tissues and implants returned to Earth in a Dragon capsule that splashed down off the California coast on June 17, 2026.
The AMP-1 platform
The AMP-1 (Auxilium Microfabrication Platform 1) is an autonomous orbital bioprinter designed to require minimal crew involvement, about two minutes to set up and under a minute per print session. It uses lightweight, preloaded bio-material cartridges and can manufacture both living tissues and implantable medical devices from the same platform in a single mission.
Auxilium collaborated with the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), directed by Dr. Anthony Atala, which provided the cell and tissue designs.
Why space works for bioprinting
Microgravity offers several advantages over Earth-based bioprinting. Without gravity-induced sedimentation, cells remain evenly distributed throughout the printed construct, producing more uniform tissue architecture. Delicate three-dimensional structures do not sag or collapse under their own weight, allowing finer geometries. The gentler mechanical environment reduces stress on living cells during printing.
“The uniform cell distribution achieved aboard the space station points to real possibilities for manufacturing medical devices and tissues in space,” Atala said.
What was produced
The mission printed three distinct living tissue types, kidney, liver, and cartilage, making it the first spaceflight to produce multiple tissue types simultaneously. It also manufactured 28 NeuroSpan Bridge devices, which are designed to accelerate nerve regeneration after peripheral nerve injuries. Earlier Auxilium missions (2025) had produced perfusable vasculature and eight nerve repair implants, but the June 2026 mission represents a major leap in scope.
What happens next
The returned tissues will undergo preclinical analysis, cell viability, structural integrity, and functional comparison to Earth-printed equivalents. They are not intended for immediate clinical transplantation.
The NeuroSpan Bridge implants could potentially feed into Auxilium’s existing NeuroSpan-1 clinical trial (NCT06529835), which is enrolling 80 patients across multiple US sites to compare the device with existing nerve repair methods.
The broader goal, according to CEO Jacob Koffler, is to establish routine orbital manufacturing for biotech, healthcare, and advanced materials, a capability that would be essential for long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, where resupply from Earth is impractical.
Sources
[1] Dossett, J. “Kidney and liver tissue bioprinted on the ISS for the first time.” Space.com (2026). https://www.space.com/technology/space-medicine-breakthrough-kidney-and-liver-tissue-bioprinted-off-earth-for-1st-time-ever