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He spent a record 371 days in space and, with his dedication and medical knowledge, contributed science that seems to have been taken from
Bicentennial Man
himself and that, in a couple of decades, could provide human beings with artificial organs manufactured under conditions of weightlessness.
Francisco 'Frank' Rubio (Los Angeles, 48 years old), is a doctor and American soldier of Salvadoran origin with more than 1,100 flight hours as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot and an accomplished parachutist with more than 650 free fall jumps.
In 2022, Rubio was assigned to a six-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS), but ended up stranded due to a breakdown in the cooling system of the Russian Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft, on which I had to return to Earth.
He ended up being up there for more than a year, longer than any other NASA astronaut.
As a doctor, he knew the toll that this feat meant on his body—in space, bone density is lost quickly due to the absence of gravity, which can also affect the immune and cardiovascular systems.
Military training, he says, helped him face the psychological challenge of a prolonged stay in space.
Before joining NASA, he served on missions in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
In 2017 he was selected by the US space agency and spent two years in intensive training before his first special raid.
On the ISS, the astronaut decided to focus on what he loves most: medicine.
He worked on hundreds of experiments.
One of his favorites was at the BioFabrication Facility (BFF), a 3D biological printer where he participated in research evaluating the mechanical properties of a meniscus printed with biological cells and inks.
“We were learning how cells behave in microgravity and how they divide.
It is a little different because the shape of the cells can be maintained a little more easily,” he says in Spanish from NASA in a brief video call interview with América Futura.
“While I was there, we were able to make a piece of the meniscus and that is incredible.
And that's because microgravity leaves us.
On Earth, it couldn't be done because the gravity is too much.
And now what we have to discover is how to return that meniscus and how to maintain the structure of those tissues on Earth,” he explains.
According to Rubio, if this type of research continues to advance, complete organs, such as a heart or a liver, could be manufactured in 10 or 20 years.
The experiment, which he worked on with NASA colleagues Warren Hoburg and Stephen Bowen and UAE astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi, could have a huge impact on the quality of life of thousands of people if it is implemented.
To give an example, the incidence of acute meniscal tears is more than 50 cases per 100,000 people per year in the world.
Biomanufacturing in space can be more productive due to the absence of gravity.
Among the medical applications that could be developed under these conditions are the mass production of stem cells, the creation of advanced models of diseases or the expansion of 3D bioprinting capabilities.
In addition, this branch of biotechnology can contribute to the creation of new sustainable materials for fashion, sports or construction.
Frank Rubio inside the Destiny laboratory module of the International Space Station, November 3, 2022.NASA
During one of his three spacewalks, Rubio also helped install a device designed for the deployment of small satellites.
Furthermore, on the ISS he participated in growing hydroponic vegetables and was even unfairly accused by his colleagues of eating a couple of tomatoes that had been placed in a bag, but ended up floating for months in the ducts of the space complex.
He was only exonerated when, months later, other astronauts found them when he was already back on Earth.
Learning to grow in water or air will depend largely on the space race in the future.
The daily challenges of living in space
Rubio had prepared to spend six months in space - which usually lasts a NASA mission due to the exhausting responsibilities for those who do it - but he ended up staying more than a year, which made him the US agency's astronaut in space. spend more time on the space station.
He surpassed Mark Vande Hei, who had spent 355 consecutive days on the ISS.
— Did you miss Earth more when you were stranded on the ISS or do you miss being back there more now?
—When I was there, every day I missed my family and I missed the house, but now that I am here, four months after returning, at least once a week I think that I would like to be there again for at least a few hours, to enjoy the view, to enjoy floating and because being part of a complete space mission is something very special and I miss it a little, he admits after laughing.
Although he doesn't miss doing it all the time.
Rubio assures that daily routines in space are less glamorous than we imagine on Earth.
The astronaut spent a full year isolated from the world, floating, without eating fresh food, without hugs from family or going for walks.
He spent the day working up to nine hours on high-level investigations in which there is no room for error, and on maintenance and training tasks.
They were intense and timed days, he says, in which, among other things, the astronauts received continuous solar radiation and lost muscle mass even though they exercised for two hours a day.
“It takes a couple of months to get used to that rhythm,” he says.
Furthermore, Rubio assures that he missed seeing the water flow.
The astronauts wash themselves with a wet towel, while they brush their teeth with their mouths almost closed to prevent the liquid from dissipating throughout the station and contaminating other rooms where research is carried out.
Once used, toothpaste can be spit out onto a cloth, but he chose to swallow it.
“I swallowed that twice a day for a whole year,” he confesses, laughing.
“It's part of the operation.”
The space race has made several generations idealize the work of astronauts, men and women who risk their lives for science.
And although the view from space is spectacular, the emotional, physical and work load is hard and challenging.
“I believe that every day of the 370 that I spent in the space was special and every day there was a spectacular image that added to the beauty that is the entire experience of being there,” she says.
Frank Rubio during a spacewalk in his Extravehicular Mobility Unit, on November 15, 2022.NASA
For him, the biggest challenges in space are biological, adapting to life without gravity.
And although some magnates already seem to have inaugurated the era of space tourism, Rubio believes that humans are not yet ready for long space stays, lasting more than one or two years.
According to NASA estimates, with current technology, a round trip to Mars and back could take three years and Pluto, up to 40. Although, the astronaut clarifies, “what seems impossible today will one day be normal.”
“I believe that psychologically and physically there are people who can make the effort a little more than normal.
And those types of people are the ones needed to advance the space race now,” she says.
It is a task in which he assures that it takes “a lot of strength” and a good team behind it.
“It is very important to have a strong family, a strong community that supports you to be successful,” she maintains.
Rubio feels privileged to be part of an advanced mission “that is advancing science and technology and doing things to make life better for all of humanity.”
The love for this job makes him want to continue for a few more years.
“And, God willing, maybe return to space for much more.”
371 days are not enough for the NASA astronaut who has been on the international space station the longest in a row.
Latinos in space
There are 15 astronauts of Hispanic origin who have traveled to space with NASA or its allies.
These are some of its milestones:
Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez
, from Cuba, was the first person of Hispanic origin to travel to space, in 1980.
Rodolfo Neri Vela
, from Mexico, was the first Hispanic to fly on the US space shuttle, in 1985. He also introduced tortillas to the astronauts' menu.
Franklin Chang-Díaz
, from Costa Rica, was the first Hispanic-American in space, in 1986. He holds the record of having traveled to space seven times.
Ellen Ochoa
, of Mexican origin, was the first Hispanic astronaut, in 1993. She was also the first person of Hispanic origin to direct NASA's Johnson Space Center.
José Hernández
, whose parents were immigrants from Mexico, was the first astronaut to use Twitter in Spanish from space, in 2009.