{"id":90166,"date":"2026-09-28T13:54:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T05:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/?p=90166"},"modified":"2026-09-28T13:54:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T05:54:21","slug":"cas-space-expands-space-pharma-partnership-plans-2027-lihong-2-debut-with-pharmaceutical-payload","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/cas-space-expands-space-pharma-partnership-plans-2027-lihong-2-debut-with-pharmaceutical-payload\/","title":{"rendered":"CAS Space Expands Space Pharma Partnership, Plans 2027 Lihong-2 Debut With Pharmaceutical Payload"},"content":{"rendered":"

CAS Space and Guangzhou Laboratory have begun jointly developing space pharmaceutical payloads and plan to conduct validation experiments for space-based drug research. The first payloads are scheduled to fly aboard the reusable Lihong-2 vehicle on a suborbital mission in the first quarter of 2027. The mission will carry out crystallization experiments involving proteins and small-molecule drugs while conducting early-stage technology validation of space pharmaceutical equipment.<\/p>\n

Medicine and Engineering Converge in Space Pharmaceutical Research<\/h2>\n

\"Xu<\/p>\n

Xu Qiang (right), a researcher at Guangzhou Laboratory, and Wang Yingcheng, executive vice president of the CAS Space Innovation Research Institute, during an interview<\/em><\/p>\n

Under the partnership, Guangzhou Laboratory will define the scientific questions surrounding drug crystallization and take responsibility for experimental design, samples, ground-based control experiments and results analysis. Its core team, led by researcher Xu Qiang, has extensive experience in advanced medical devices, MEMS sensors and microscopic imaging. The team will adapt mature biomedical automation and in-situ observation technologies for use in space payloads.<\/p>\n

CAS Space will provide the spaceflight platform, experimental environment, system interfaces, launch and recovery services, and overall mission organization. The two sides will jointly conduct the engineering design of the space pharmaceutical payloads.<\/p>\n

Their equipment-development work will focus on increasing the automation of experimental operations and process observation. One example is a full-field cell imager designed for biological experiments in space. The team has already worked to make the instrument smaller, lighter and more energy-efficient. Functions including autofocus, continuous imaging and image analysis will improve its ability to operate autonomously and collect data.<\/p>\n

Such technologies can reduce the use of limited in-space resources and provide a foundation for the routine, large-scale deployment of biomedical equipment in space.<\/p>\n

Xu said modern medicine has substantial demand for higher-quality structural data, more stable drug crystal forms, disease models that more closely resemble conditions in the human body, and more efficient screening tools. The space environment could provide an additional path for addressing some of these challenges, making space biopharmaceutical research a key area in which commercial spaceflight can create broader social value.<\/p>\n

Meeting the Space-to-Ground Consistency Challenge<\/h2>\n

Microgravity can help certain proteins form higher-quality crystals while providing new experimental conditions for screening the crystal forms of small-molecule drugs and controlling particle formation. Cells can also form three-dimensional aggregates more readily in microgravity, creating opportunities to study disease mechanisms and drug responses.<\/p>\n

Turning space pharmaceuticals into a commercial industry, however, will require solutions to challenges involving cost, the repeatability of experimental results and consistent product quality.<\/p>\n

CAS Space plans to address these issues by making sample integrity a core requirement from the earliest stages of system design. Each drug sample will receive a unique identifier and a complete record of its condition throughout the mission. The payload will incorporate enhanced sealing, contamination control, temperature maintenance and vibration protection. Critical environmental parameters will be monitored in real time during the return journey, followed by rapid, controlled transportation after landing.<\/p>\n

The complete dataset will be used to verify consistency between samples in space and those delivered on the ground. The goal is not simply to carry biomedical payloads into space, but to establish an end-to-end system covering outbound transportation, in-space experiments, safe return and ground delivery.<\/p>\n

Standardized payload interfaces will also support rapid payload replacement, repeat flights and compatibility with multiple users, lowering the barriers for research institutions and pharmaceutical companies seeking access to the space environment.<\/p>\n

\"Cargo<\/p>\n

Cargo configuration of the reusable Lihong-2 vehicle<\/em><\/p>\n

Supporting these research efforts is CAS Space\u2019s transportation system connecting Earth and space. Lihong-1 completed a suborbital mission and recovered its returnable payload capsule in January 2026. The mission included China\u2019s first production of metal components using metal 3D printing in space.<\/p>\n

The reusable Lihong-2 vehicle is scheduled to make its maiden flight in the first quarter of 2027 carrying space pharmaceutical payloads. In 2028, the reusable Lihong-3 spacecraft is expected to conduct its first flight. It will provide up to one year of microgravity conditions for at least 300 kilograms of space manufacturing payloads, serving as a key platform for the scaled and commercial development of in-orbit manufacturing.<\/p>\n

Building a Commercial Space and Biopharmaceutical Innovation Ecosystem<\/h2>\n

CAS Space and Guangzhou Laboratory have established a joint working group to cultivate interdisciplinary talent in space biomedicine. The group brings together engineers working on spaceflight platforms and payloads, developers of advanced biomedical equipment, and specialists in drug development, crystallization experiments, testing and analysis. Their close coordination is intended to accelerate the iteration of both payload designs and experimental plans.<\/p>\n

The two organizations have also launched a joint postdoctoral training program to develop researchers with expertise in both biomedicine and space engineering, creating a talent pipeline for the long-term development of space biomedicine.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The full-field cell imager for space biomedical experiments in operation<\/em><\/p>\n

The potential of commercial spaceflight extends beyond reaching space. Its wider value lies in using the space environment to create new industries and forms of productive capacity. CAS Space is working with partners in biomedicine, healthcare and related fields to convert access to and use of space into measurable and sustainable industrial value. The broader objective is to establish practical commercial applications for space technology while advancing human health and social development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CAS Space and Guangzhou Laboratory have begun jointly developing space pharmaceutical payloads and plan to conduct validation experiments for space-based drug research. The first payloads are scheduled to fly aboard the reusable Lihong-2 vehicle on a suborbital mission in the first quarter of 2027. The mission will carry out crystallization experiments involving proteins and small-molecule […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90168,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6236,646,135,10528,10529,6210,284,6215],"class_list":["post-90166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-biotechnology","tag-cas-space","tag-china","tag-guangzhou-laboratory","tag-lihong-2","tag-microgravity-research","tag-reusable-spacecraft","tag-space-pharmaceuticals"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90166"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90170,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90166\/revisions\/90170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}