(ABC 6 News) – A Mayo Clinic stem cell research experience will blast off from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 29, 2024.

Dr. Abba Zubair will prepare stem cells for a flight to test how zero gravity could affect bone loss.

“We’ve known for some time that astronauts lose bone density on long-duration space flights,” said Zubair, pathology specialist at Mayo Clinic in Florida. “We want to understand how this occurs so we can work on solutions that prevent bone loss not only in astronauts while they’re in space, but also in patients here on Earth.”

Zubair’s research will observe how gravity (or rather, a lack thereof) could affect stem cells growth and healing factors.

According to Mayo, the research will take place during two different space flights.

According to Mayo, the first flight would “evaluate the impact of microgravity on bone-forming stem cells.”

The second flight (scheduled for the end of 2024) would study microgravity on other cell types active in bone formation/loss.