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The purpose of the Kirara service is to support drug discovery through high-quality protein crystallisation in space, using an original small incubator unit developed by JAMSS and hosted in the ICE Cubes Facility on the International Space Station.
It is considered that crystallisation under microgravity is effective for improving the quality of crystals, since gravity and convective forces do not get in the way, often leading to larger, better structured crystals, with less chance of contamination. The unique laboratory and environment of the ISS can be used to support the development of novel drugs that can be used to treat viral outbreaks or antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Kirara offers a unique end-to-end service where a microgravity and crystallisation expert determines the ideal crystallisation conditions for the user and users are offered several options for returning their crystals for terrestrial testing – including having the same experts that set up the experiment performing X-ray diffraction on the crystals.
The Kirara protein crystallization service has had 6 successful missions already (as of May 2025). During the first mission in Dec-2019, 7 pharma companies and research centres participated and the first ever cellulose synthesis by enzyme in microgravity took place. On Kirara #2 in Dec-2020, the service was used to investigate Veklury, a redemsivir-based medicament for treating COVID-19, from InnoStudio Inc. and CycloLab Cyclodextrin C&D laboratory Ltd. And in Dec-2021, Kirara #3 exposed to microgravity the research of 5 different customers from pharma / agbio companies and research institutes from 3 different continents – Asia, US and Europe. Read more in the related articles below.
Kirara #4 hosted samples for drug R&D (Covid-19 related research) and academic research (life sciences and agriculture), as well as educational and inspirational projects. Read more about it here.
Launched in Nov-2023, Kirara #5 hosted samples from a number of companies, research institutions and universities from Japan, Korea and Taiwan. You can read more about it here.
On its latest mission (April-May 2025), Kirara #6 carried an array of scientific and educational experiments from Japan, Korea, and Hungary, including contributions from the Hungarian HUNOR national mission. Among them, TANAKA Precious Metals explores Au Nanostructure Formation Technology to enhance crystal growth, while HUN-REN’s experiment is the first to crystallize hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) in space, offering unprecedented insights into fragile structures and potentially yielding larger, more ordered structures with applications in drug development and material science. Kirara #6 also included educational components, such as seed growth experiments for Japanese schoolchildren, and cultural contributions like a musical interpretation of crystallization. By blending science, STEM education, and culture, the Kirara service continues to demonstrate how microgravity research can foster international collaboration, inspire future generations, and deliver tangible benefits back on Earth. Read more about the mission here.
Watch the recorded webinars organized by Space Commerce Matters together with JAMSS and ICE Cubes on “Unlocking the Future of Drug Discovery” as well as “Crystal Growing in Microgravity: Proteins, Viruses and Inorganics”, with Dr. Anne Wilson (Butler University) as keynote speaker.
Explore the links and related articles below for more information about past missions and use cases.
Learn more about the asset from the factsheet attached below and check out the rest of our Asset Catalogue.
Image credits: JAXA / ESA / ICE Cubes
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Kirara space missions with customers from Asia, Europe and US