Delta Biosciences, a Lithuanian chemistry company, is partnering with the European Space Agency to launch a groundbreaking space medicine experiment aboard the International Space Station in 2026, the company said in a press release.
The nearly three-year mission will test how radiation in space affects the stability of pharmaceuticals, including Delta Biosciences’ proprietary radioprotective compounds and radiation-resistant additives known as excipients. The goal is to extend the shelf life of medications for astronauts on long-duration missions, such as a future trip to Mars.
“Medicines are designed with terrestrial logic, but space changes everything,” said Delta Biosciences co-founder Dominykas Milašius. “Radiation, extreme temperatures, and the lack of resupply push pharmaceuticals to their limits.” This mission builds radiation resistance into drug development from the ground up, he added.
The mission will be the first industrial life sciences experiment of its kind from Lithuania and the broader Central and Eastern European region. It is seen as a key milestone in both the global space medicine sector and Lithuania’s growing space industry.
According to ESA, the experiment addresses a critical challenge in human spaceflight: ensuring that essential medications remain safe and effective in extreme environments.
“Experiments assessing how medication is impacted by the space environment are limited so far,” said Dr. Angelique Van Ombergen, ESA’s chief exploration scientist. “This experiment will provide new insights for ESA and the wider space community into how we can protect astronauts and extend the shelf life of medications in space, a key requirement for long-term missions beyond Low Earth Orbit.”
The project will expose dozens of pharmaceutical compounds to different radiation zones aboard the ISS. Samples will be retrieved and analysed every eight months, then compared with ground-based controls to map how various drugs degrade over time.
One of the major risks of space travel is radiation exposure. In orbit and beyond, astronauts are vulnerable to galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events – high-energy particles that can harm both human cells and the medications meant to protect them.
“This experiment will provide critical data on how pharmaceuticals degrade under space radiation and offer insights for countermeasure development,” said Dr. Christiane Hahn, ESA’s science lead for biology.
Delta Biosciences’ CTO, Dr. Donatas Žmuidinavičius, said the team has invited international collaborators from the US, Europe and Japan to maximise the scientific impact of the mission.
The partnership has received strong backing from Lithuania’s government. “This mission reinforces Lithuania’s ambition to become a leader in deep tech and innovation,” said Economy Minister Lukas Savickas.
Eglė Elena Šataitė, head of SpaceHub at Innovation Agency Lithuania, called it a landmark for the country’s contribution to global space research.
“Space exploration is a global effort, and so is the challenge of keeping astronauts healthy,” said Onė Mikulskytė, a space researcher at Delta Biosciences. “We’re laying the groundwork for a future where no mission is limited by the availability of safe, effective treatments.”
The mission is scheduled for launch in early 2026.
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