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EOA, a microfluidic organic analyzer for biosignatures, was one of a few dozen promising space technologies chosen for NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, it was recently announced. This means that the tiny “Lab on a Chip” will travel aboard a vehicle that will expose it to the rigors of spaceflight, as a significant first step to test its readiness for a future space mission. The vehicle on which EOA will hitch a ride is expected to be ZERO-G’s G-Force One, a modified Boeing 727 that reaches a weightless environment. EOA will be assessed on its ability to perform clinical analyses that could support human health in space.
The 2020 cohort of technologies were chosen with NASA’s current priorities in mind, in this case tapping commercial suborbital flight and low-Earth orbit platforms for research opportunities. “The Flight Opportunities program aims to help ensure that these innovations are well-positioned to address challenges and enable NASA to achieve its lunar ambitions, while also contributing to a growing and vibrant commercial space industry,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).