“Ouch!” Orak heard Felix say.
“Felix, what happened? Are you hurt?” Verum said.
“I pricked my finger,” Felix replied. He was tending to the roses in his garden and a thorn pricked his finger. Orak quickly summoned a bandage with his magic and applied it to Felix’s finger.
“Be careful next time, Felix,” Scorch said. Felix nodded.
“Did you know that astronauts are testing bandages made out of human skin?” Orak said.
“Really? It sounds gross,” Felix scrunched his nose.
“It’s not gross at all!” Orak defended the new technology, “If I tell you more about the technology, I bet you will be excited too.”
“Go ahead,” Felix said. His pointy ears perked up, ready to listen attentively.
“Traveling to space is dangerous. Even a simple cut wound might be difficult to heal as there are not enough resources. It also takes much longer to heal in space than on Earth. So, the German Space Agency (DLR) experimented and created bioprinted bandages made from astronauts’ cells,” Orak said, “Cells are the smallest units of life. All living beings are made of cells.”
“What are bioprinted bandages and how do they work?” inquired Scorch.
Orak explained, “Bioprinting is a process of producing tissue or organs similar to natural body parts. There is a device known as Bioprint FirstAid. It is designed to hold cells from astronauts inside a bio-ink. When someone is injured, the bio-ink mixes two gels and creates a bandage. The device applies the bandage to the injury site.”
“The Bioprint FirstAid is small. It can be held in the hand. It requires no batteries or any other power source,” Orak added.
“Where is the device now? Maybe we can see how it works on Felix!” Verum said.
Felix said, “It sounds like an excellent idea, but unfortunately I am not human. I am a Mystical!”
“But you were right, Orak,” Felix said, “This technology is very interesting and it will help astronauts in space!”
“In 2021, the device was sent to International Space Station (ISS) by SpaceX,” Orak said, “SpaceX is an aerospace company. The device will be tested to see how it works in space.”