Vast and Cedars-Sinai Partner on Microgravity Science and Crew Health

Vast, the company developing next-generation space stations, today announced a strategic collaboration with Cedars-Sinai, one of the nation’s premier academic health systems and a pioneer in regenerative medicine and biomedical research, at the 41st Space Symposium. 

Cedars-Sinai has established the Center for Space Medicine Research to advance space medicine. The center has sent several experiments to space to study how microgravity influences cell biology and human physiology. It also is advancing the use of microgravity to manufacture unique biomaterials in space for translational use on Earth.

Vast and Cedars-Sinai will work together on a broad range of initiatives, including collaborative research and development in areas including stem cell and organoid research and biomanufacturing technology demonstrations in microgravity, with applications in regenerative medicine, longevity, and disease modeling. Additional collaboration areas include astronaut medical support, space-based research, and joint education and outreach initiatives.

Vast’s Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station launching in 2027, will host a Cedars-Sinai experiment with Exobiosphere, a payload partner of Vast and a Haven-1 Lab tenant. Cedars-Sinai investigators will study how microgravity affects the growth of organoids—small collections of cells that emulate the form and function of human organs. Scientists have proven disease models of organoids progress more quickly in space as compared to on Earth. Low-Earth orbit-based laboratories, like Haven-1 Lab, enable scientists to test drug efficacy and understand disease progression more quickly compared to using ground-based disease models alone.

“Haven-1 is unlocking exciting new opportunities for health systems to conduct microgravity research beyond what’s been possible in the past,” said Arun Sharma, PhD, director of the center. “Our goal for this collaboration, which reflects the growth and creativity of the L.A.-based space industry, is to produce many exciting breakthroughs that improve patients’ lives and contribute to better health here on Earth.” 

As Vast prepares for the launch of Haven-1, the company is partnering with experts like Cedars-Sinai to pioneer a new era in microgravity research that can scale commercially and help advance breakthroughs to benefit life on Earth. 

“Microgravity offers incredible benefits to accelerate scientific research at rates not possible on Earth,” said Meghan Everett, Principal Scientist at Vast and former International Space Station Program Deputy Chief Scientist. “Haven-1 Lab is the first step in building a next-generation platform for translational research in space. Partnering with Cedars-Sinai brings world-class cell biology expertise into our research ecosystem and, together, we’ll accelerate breakthroughs to benefit human health on Earth and advance human space exploration.”

Cedars-Sinai leaders said the partnership represents a step forward in advancing space science. 

“We continue to extend Cedars-Sinai’s legacy of clinical and scientific excellence beyond Earth, with the potential to generate transformative insights into therapeutic development and human health,” said Clive Svendsen, PhD, executive director of the Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute at Cedars-Sinai.

To learn more about conducting science on Haven-1, visit: www.vastspace.com/haven-1-lab

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About Vast

Vast is developing next-generation space stations to ensure a continuous human presence in space for America and its allies, enabling advanced microgravity research and manufacturing, and unlocking a new space economy for government, corporate, and private customers. Using an incremental, hardware-rich and low-cost approach, Vast is rapidly developing its multi-module Haven Station. Haven Demo’s 2025 success made Vast the only operational commercial space station company to fly and operate its own spacecraft. Next, Haven-1 is expected to become the world’s first commercial space station when it launches in 2027, followed by additional Haven modules to enable permanent human presence by 2030.

Headquartered in Long Beach, California, and with more than 1,000 employees and over a billion dollars in private capital, Vast has built the facilities required to manufacture and operate America’s next space station. The company plans to develop future habitats for the Moon and Mars, dedicated space stations for government partners, and other crewed systems that will unlock the expanding long-term space economy.

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