ORBIT FOR LIFE Named Microgravity Research & Development Organisation of the Year in Europe 2026 by Life Sciences Review Europe 🚀

We have some news we simply cannot keep to ourselves: ORBIT FOR LIFE has been recognized by Life Sciences Review Europe as the "Microgravity Research and Development Organisation of the Year in Europe 2026."

This recognition, determined through the publication's independent editorial process and its Life Sciences Value Assessment Model, honours excellence in R&D impact, domain alignment and industry credibility. For our entire team, our partners and our Expert Council, it is a wonderful confirmation of what we believe in every single day: microgravity is the most under-used laboratory available to medicine — and Europe is ready to use it.

Eighteen Months of Momentum

This award caps an extraordinary period for our initiative. Over the past eighteen months, we have:

• Advanced two translational pre-flight programmes — the microfluidic organ-on-a-chip systems developed under Prof. Matteo Moretti at the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale in Lugano, and the adipose-derived stem cell research for tissue engineering and microsurgical reconstruction led by Prof. Daniel Kalbermatten at the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève. Both programmes ensure that experiments are validated groundside before they ever leave the launch pad, de-risking space R&D for the entire ecosystem.

• Taken European heritage toward the Moon with our LUNAR DELIGHT™ expedition, part of LifeShip's "Pyramid on the Moon" mission targeting the lunar South Pole; including the first lunar seed bank preserving the genetic code of terrestrial plant species, and a pre-lunar ISS orbital flight of our Almonds Edition in fall 2026.

• Convened the ecosystem where it matters: the Executive Speaker Dinner at the Dubai Airshow, our "LEO Unlimited" strategic session at Dubai South with Beyond Gravity, the Swiss Evening at Space Tech Expo Bremen alongside Switzerland Global Enterprise and Swissmem/SSIG, and the Life Sciences Roundtable in Zug, which brought Swiss biotech, pharma and medtech leaders together around commercial space stations.

A Team Effort! And an Excited One

None of this happens without people. Our international Expert Council: Prof. John Horack (The Ohio State University), Prof. Daniel Kalbermatten (HUG), Jack Lim (Boryung), Prof. Matteo Moretti (EOC Lugano) and Luis Zea (Starlab Space) provide the scientific oversight and real-world flight heritage that keep every project honest and aligned with a credible route to application. The enthusiasm across the Council and our partner network about this recognition has been simply infectious. This award belongs to all of them.

The Next Three Years: Europe's Microgravity Moment

We are convinced the best is yet to come. As the industry transitions from the ISS era to commercial LEO destinations and cislunar missions, the coming three years will see microgravity move from a niche capability to a standard part of European life-science R&D infrastructure, from scaffold-free 3D tissue models and protein crystal growth for drug discovery, to AI-driven data processing in orbit and in-orbit biomanufacturing.

Our mission remains unchanged: to make microgravity accessible, credible and commercially viable: for Swiss and European life-science companies first, and for patients everywhere.

Thank you, Life Sciences Review Europe, for this honour. And to everyone who has been part of this journey: ad astra...the orbit is just the beginning. 🌍✨🌙

Want to bring your research or your brand into orbit? Get in touch with the ORBIT FOR LIFE team.