The European Space Agency has selected the Gulbenkian Institute of Molecular Medicine in Lisbon, Portugal, to host its new Human and Robotic Exploration Biobank.
In December 2024, ESA published a call for proposals for the establishment of the Exploration Biobank under its Human and Robotic Exploration directorate. The initiative was given the name HRE Exploration Biobank, with HRE standing for Human and Robotic Exploration, making the full title, somewhat redundantly, the Human and Robotic Exploration Exploration Biobank.
With the HRE Exploration Biobank initiative, the agency aimed to procure an existing commercial service to facilitate the rapid establishment of a centralised repository for biological samples. On 22 July, the Gulbenkian Institute of Molecular Medicine (GIMM) announced that it had been selected to host ESA’s HRE Exploration Biobank. According to the original call, the contract has a maximum value of €300,000 for a period of 24 months.
The HRE Exploration Biobank will be used to store samples originating from space missions, astronaut simulation experiments, and studies on the effects of microgravity on the human body. In a statement on social media, ESA Science Coordinator Inês Antunes explained that the biobank would enable the agency to conduct longitudinal and cross-study analyses, support health risk mitigation and biomedical innovation for future human exploration, and maximise the scientific return from collected samples.
“This ESA-led project will serve as a scientific time capsule, preserving high-quality biological and environmental samples from our analog studies and, later, space missions, for long-term research,” said Angelique Van Ombergen, ESA’s Chief Exploration Scientist.
Implementation of the HRE Exploration Biobank will occur over two phases. During the first four months, teams will develop safety, operational, and transport protocols. The second phase will commence in the last quarter of 2025 and will include the transfer of the first samples.
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