Vascular Tissue Challenge

Create a human organ analog to help study the effects of deep space travel and enable the growth of new human tissue in orbit to help future astronauts. Blood vessels in skin vascularize and provide the necessary nutrients to keep the tissue healthy. Creating a vascularized, thick-tissue organ analog will allow researchers to study issues related to long-duration human space travel, such as radiation and how to minimize its effects. The Vascular Tissue Challenge is open to U.S. incorporated organizations and offers a $300,000 grand prize and two $100,000 runner-up prizes to the first three qualifying teams that complete trials before September 30, 2019.