Spaceflight multi-omics reveals vulnerabilities of human germ cell development

While prior studies have characterized effects on stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, the biological impacts of spaceflight on human germ cell development remain unexplored. To address this gap, we deployed automated experimental platforms aboard China's Tianzhou-1 (TZ-1) and Tianzhou-6 spacecraft, enabling fluorescent morphological analysis and multi-omics profiling of stem cell derivatives under orbital conditions.

These systems incorporated live-cell imaging, remote operation interfaces from Earth, and integrated sample preservation for time-point-specific specimen capture. Our experiments revealed that spaceflight significantly reduced germ cell yields and dysregulated translational profiles, particularly in cytoskeletal organization and extracellular matrix (ECM) interaction pathways. However, whole-exome sequencing and genome-wide methylation analyses confirmed genomic stability, with no statistically significant mutations during short-term spaceflight.