Abu Dhabi/New York: Burjeel Holdings has announced plans to send the world’s first astronaut with diabetes into space. The announcement was made in New York at the Burjeel Institute for Global Health, in the presence of Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil, Axiom Space CEO Tejpaul Bhatia, and leading global space and healthcare experts.
The research, titled Sweet Ride, was carried out during the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station by astronaut Shubhamshu Shukla. Experiments conducted in microgravity have delivered groundbreaking preliminary results, paving the way for new possibilities in both space exploration and diabetes care.
A joint project between UAE-based Burjeel Holdings and US-based Axiom Space, the study showed that devices widely used by millions of diabetics on Earth can function effectively in space. Continuous glucose monitoring and data transmission between space and Earth were proven possible, opening opportunities for remote healthcare innovations and making space travel feasible for people with diabetes.
“This is not just about space travel, but also about providing better healthcare solutions for millions of people living with diabetes worldwide,” said Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil.
The mission marked several firsts, including continuous glucose monitoring among astronauts, the use of insulin pens in space, and validation of multiple monitoring methods in microgravity. The findings offer hope to over 500 million diabetics globally, challenging the long-standing limitation that excluded them from space travel.
