Hyderabad: Diagnostic services provider Redcliffe Labs on Friday said it has joined hands with Skyroot Aerospace to explore the future of diagnostics in space. The collaboration will study how diagnostic materials perform in space, marking what the companies describe as India’s first partnership between diagnostics and private space science.Noida-headquartered Redcliffe said its diagnostic research capabilities and Hyderabad-based Skyroot’s orbital launch expertise will combine to examine the stability of dry diagnostic reagents in low Earth orbit. The first mission, DRIFT-1, will send Redcliffe Labs’ dry reagents into orbit for 90 days, while an identical control sample remains on Earth.Researchers will compare the space-flown and ground samples to assess changes in reagent stability, performance and reliability after exposure to orbital conditions.The companies said the study is intended to create a flight-heritage dataset that could guide future diagnostic technologies for space missions and difficult healthcare environments on Earth.Potential applications include astronaut health monitoring, space-enabled diagnostics, microgravity life sciences research and point-of-care testing for future human spaceflight programmes such as Gaganyaan and the Bharatiya Antariksh Station.Redcliffe said the findings may also support more resilient diagnostic solutions for areas with limited laboratory infrastructure or cold-chain access.Skyroot co-founder and CEO Pawan Kumar Chandana said the project advances the company’s aim of opening space applications while supporting healthier astronauts in orbit and beyond.“A diagnostics leader taking its expertise to orbit is exactly the kind of use case we want to open up by opening space for all. Skyroot’s partnership with Redcliffe Labs is a first step towards keeping astronauts healthier in orbit,” Chandana said.Dheeraj Jain, chairman and co-founder of Redcliffe Labs, said the partnership reflects India’s ability to combine scientific disciplines to address complex global challenges.“The most transformative breakthroughs often happen at the intersection of disciplines that rarely come together. By bringing together Redcliffe Labs’ expertise in diagnostics and Skyroot Aerospace’s leadership in space technology, we are opening a new frontier for scientific research and innovation,” he said.Aditya Kandoi, founder and CEO of Redcliffe Labs, said space offers an extreme testing environment for diagnostic innovation.“Through this collaboration, we are taking our scientific expertise beyond the conventional laboratory to understand how our diagnostic technologies perform in orbit, with the ambition of bringing those learnings back to Earth. If we can build diagnostics that withstand the rigours of space, we can create more resilient technologies that improve access to reliable healthcare in some of the most challenging environments on Earth,” Kandoi added.
