UAE-US plan to send first diabetic astronaut to space

Two diabetes monitoring gadgets have been proved to even work in the extraterrestrial environment.

While this initial conclusion brightens up the path in addressing the debilitating disease to which 3.4 million people worldwide had succumbed to in 2024, two private organisations in the UAE and USA have announced plans of sending into outer space the world’s first astronaut with diabetes. Burjeel Holdings founded 18 years ago in the UAE capital and Axiom Space set up nine years back in Houston, Texas, also announced on Thursday, from the Burjeel Institute for Global Health in New York City, the results of the June 25 to July 14 18-Day International Space Station (ISS) “Suite Ride,” in the presence of Burjeel Holdings founder/chairman Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil and Axiom Space chief executive officer Tejpal Bhatia.

From Abu Dhabi on Friday, Burjeel Medical City chief medical officer Dr. Mohammad Fityan told Gulf Today, “The preliminary data is showing that there is no significant change in the blood glucose levels in the outer space compared to Earth.”

The Internal Medicine consultant was interviewed prior to the June 25 outer space ascent of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4 Mission) from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

He clarified then that the “focus” of the joint project was “not on treating astronauts with diabetes. Rather, to explore how glucose metabolism behaves in space.

“The goal is to understand whether individuals with diabetes could safely participate in future space missions, based on insights gained from monitoring healthy astronauts.”

“Space offers a rare environment to study human physiology in ways not possible on Earth. This includes observing how chronic conditions like diabetes might behave in microgravity,” Fityan also said, explaining that microgravity is “that small amount of gravity and so people and objects float.”

On Friday, and on the diabetes monitoring gadgets, he mentioned that the research theorems were about the accuracy in microgravity of the Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) and Insulin Pen (IP). CGM is a small wearable sensor that reads glucose in that fluid under the skin every few minutes and sends the numbers to a reader/phone.

It helps people adjust their food/insulin quickly without finger sticks for the blood droplet each time.

The handheld prefilled with insulin IP is more convenient to carry than vials or syringes. Asked on how the “Suite Ride” findings affect the diabetics worldwide, Fityan pointed out “better remote care” and “device confidence.” This, as in the Middle East and North Africa, the “International Diabetes Federation 2000 to 2050 Report,” had indicated that $35 billion had been spent in 2024 alone; one in three adults remain undiagnosed; one in six adults are sufferers; and one in five live births are affected with hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar) in pregnancy.

“If CGM streams and clinical oversight work from orbit, they certainly work on an oil rig, in a desert camp, or at sea. That tightens telemedicine for people far from clinics. Stress-testing in extreme conditions accelerates the development of robust designs for everyday wearers, more reliable sensors, better data links, and clearer playbooks for emergencies.”

Fityan cautioned however: “While the data from this 18-day mission is highly valuable and reliable for short duration spaceflights of a similar length, it does not yet provide enough evidence to fully support the safety of longer missions such as months on the ISS or future lunar/Mars missions for individuals with diabetes.” The qualifications of the world’s first astronaut with diabetes to the galactic flight, shall be outlined and decided upon by the “mission provider and medical authorities for the specific vehicle and profile.” “Axiom/Space X uses standards similar to other crewed flights,” Fityan said, enumerating considerations are the “anthropometrics” or the person’s external measurements including his weight, height, waist and circumference in connection with the seat and suit, cardiovascular fitness, as well as hearing and vision wellness.

He added: “There is no one-size-fits-all rule specific to diabetes. It will be a case-by-case medical certification based on tightly controlled glucose management and demonstrated device reliability.”