Green Light for the CORM Experiment

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ASAcampus (the Joint Laboratory of the ASAlaser Research Division and the Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences "Mario Serio" of the University of Florence) and its spokespersons Dr Monica Monici, Dr Francesca Cialdai and Dr Leonardo Vignali will play an active part in the CORM project, one of the 11 Italian experiments of the ASI Bio mission VITA on-board the SpaceX Falcon 9 CRS-12 Dragon rocket launched last 14 August from the Kennedy Space Centre, Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Other researchers from both the University of Florence (Dr Alberto Magi) and the University of Rome "La Sapienza" (Dr Stefano Cacchione) are also taking part in the CORM project, coordinated by Dr Matteo Lulli and Prof Sergio Capaccioli of the University of Florence. The experiment, whose hardware was manufactured by Kayser Italia, studies the Coenzyme Q10 as a countermeasure for damage to the retina caused by microgravity and radiation in space.

Dr. Monici explains "The researchers of the ASAcampus Joint Laboratory have been studying both the role played by physical factors such as gravity, mechanical stress and electromagnetic radiation in biological processes, and the applications of physical factors for therapeutic purposes for several years now. We are pleased to be able to contribute to the CORM experiment, which, as it is carried out on the ISS under real microgravity conditions, is a good opportunity to obtain information concerning the potential damage caused by the space environment on the retinal cells and to evaluate the effectiveness of the Coenzyme Q10 as a countermeasure."

"CORM - Dr Lulli and Prof Capaccioli continue - evaluates the possibility that the Coenzyme Q10 may protect retinal cells from molecular and structural alterations induced by the microgravity and radiation present on the ISS, culminating in death by apoptosis. The properties of the Coenzyme Q10, already the subject of one of our patents which led to the production of eye drops for treating corneal and retinal disorders, in preventing retinal cell death, may have important effects on astronauts, particularly in view of long-term missions, and on Earth for all those ophthalmologic pathologies which are characterised by a high level of apoptosis. After a complete Earth-based test, the experiment was set up in a NASA-hosted laboratory at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, housed in a unique hardware produced by Kayser Italia and sent to the ISS on 14 August together with the other experiments included in the VITA mission. On returning to Earth on 17 September, the cells will be analysed on the basis of certain parameters we have set as an indicator of their integrity."

The CORM project was funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), which also co-ordinated the development and the operations of the experiments, managed the contract, and secured access to the International Space Station (ISS) through a specific agreement with NASA.

The CORM experiment on the International Space Station has been successfully launched. ASA congratulates its researchers and all the researchers of the CORM team.

The researchers of the Joint Laboratory of the ASAlaser Research Division and the Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences "Mario Serio" from the University of Florence in the CORM Experiment Team. The project, one of the 11 on-board the rocket launched on 14 August, will be carried out on the International Space Station (ISS) during the VITA mission by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), involving Paolo Nespoli, the Italian astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA).