We Are Getting Close to Manufacturing Medicine (and More) in Space!

In China, scientists have successfully tested an inflatable space station module designed to expand in orbit, paving the way for large-scale manufacturing of materials and medicines beyond Earth.

“This technology will push space manufacturing from proof-of-concept toward engineering reality,” said Yang Yiqiang, project lead at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Mechanics. “In the future, the utilization of space resources will be more accessible.”

The reconfigurable module, which inflates to over two metres in diameter, achieved stable airtight sealing and controlled deployment under microgravity conditions. Its lightweight, expandable structure could enable mass production of biopharmaceuticals and advanced materials in orbit while overcoming launch-size limits. As China accelerates its space ambitions alongside the US, orbital factories are emerging as the next frontier in sustainable, high-precision industry.