ElevationSpace and Exobiosphere Sign MoU to Enable High-Frequency Sample Return from Space
Japan, 17 July 2025 — ElevationSpace Inc. (CEO: Ryohei Kobayashi, headquartered in Sendai, Japan) and Exobiosphere (CEO: Kyle Acierno, headquartered in Luxembourg) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly work towards the realization of a high-frequency sample return service from space. The service aims to accelerate drug discovery on Earth by enabling the timely return of experimental samples from microgravity environments.
ElevationSpace is Japan’s first private company developing atmospheric re-entry and recovery technologies to bring back materials developed in space. Through this partnership, Exobiosphere’s proprietary high-throughput screening system, OHTS (Orbital High-Throughput Screener), will be integrated into ElevationSpace’s free-flying demonstrator satellite (ELS-R) and its high-frequency recovery capsule for space station missions (ELS-RS). This collaboration aims to enable rapid sample return from space, significantly enhancing drug development on Earth.
Background and Objectives of the Partnership
It is scientifically recognized that microgravity accelerates cellular aging and the progression of certain diseases, making it a promising environment for pharmaceutical R&D and drug discovery. This environment enables more precise disease models and the acceleration of drug screening, which promises to bring better medicine to patients faster. Exobiosphere is leveraging these characteristics through its development of OHTS—a system capable of screening thousands of samples simultaneously in space. While some results can be transmitted to Earth via data links, detailed analysis often requires physical retrieval of samples. However, opportunities for return from the International Space Station (ISS) are limited—typically only three times per year—creating bottlenecks for fast, iterative research cycles.
ElevationSpace’s ELS-R and ELS-RS platforms aim to eliminate this bottleneck by enabling more frequent sample returns. Notably, ELS-RS is designed to offer monthly sample return opportunities—far exceeding the current three to four times a year standard—thereby enabling faster, more iterative pharmaceutical R&D cycles.
Future Outlook
The two companies will jointly develop integration methods between OHTS and ELS-R / ELS-RS, while also collaborating on the optimization of recovery supply chains for pharmaceutical applications. They also plan to co-develop demonstration missions aboard the ISS or/and future commercial space stations, or freeflyers. Furthermore, ElevationSpace and Exobiosphere will jointly explore customer development among pharmaceutical companies and research institutions across the US, Europe, and Japan. Through these initiatives, the partnership aims to expand practical use of the space environment and realize ElevationSpace's mission of "Creating a world where everyone can live and work in Space" and Exobiosphere’s mission of “Improving and extending health on Earth and in Space”.
Comment from Ryohei Kobayashi, CEO of ElevationSpace
“This partnership marks a significant step toward turning space-based experiment results into real-world applications. Especially in drug discovery, the insights gained from microgravity environments offer unprecedented value, and our return systems represent a perfect use case. Our mission is to make space research not only more accessible, but also indispensable to real-world scientific progress.”
Comment from Kyle Acierno, CEO of Exobiosphere
“To truly enable space-based pharmaceutical research, timely return of experimental samples is essential. Combining our high-precision screening technology with ElevationSpace’s frequent return systems, we can bridge the gap between advanced space experiments and practical drug development. We are proud to take on this challenge together.”
About Exobiosphere
Exobiosphere is the world’s first contract research organization dedicated to high-throughput testing and drug discovery in space. By combining space-grade lab automation, microgravity research, and advanced analytics, the company helps pharmaceutical, biotech, and healthcare partners enhance scientific discovery and accelerate product development. Its Orbital High-Throughput Screening platform (OHTS) is designed to uncover novel cellular and disease behaviors in a microgravity environment—insights that are difficult or impossible to replicate on Earth. Headquartered in Luxembourg at the House of BioHealth, Exobiosphere’s mission is to shorten R&D timelines and bring safer, more effective treatments to market for patients worldwide.
OHTS (Orbital High-Throughput Screener)
About ELEVATIONSPACE
ElevationSpace is a Japanese startup with the vision of “building a transportation network connecting people and goods in orbit.” The company focuses on developing transportation services from space to Earth, centered on Japan’s world-class small-scale re-entry technology. In collaboration with Tohoku University and JAXA, ElevationSpace is developing compact spacecraft capable of transporting materials researched or manufactured in microgravity back to Earth. The International Space Station (ISS), which has supported a wide range of uses from basic scientific experiments to industrial applications, is scheduled to retire by the end of 2030 due to structural limitations. As such, maintaining a continuous platform for space utilization has become a growing concern. In response, ElevationSpace aims to provide: ELS-R: A free-flying orbital demonstration and return satellite for microgravity experiments and validations conducted in unmanned small satellites, offering Japan’s first commercial return service. ELS-RS: A high-frequency return capsule that operates from space stations, providing monthly return opportunities.
ELS‐R, ELS-RS
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