GIMM received representatives from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Portuguese Space Agency this Wednesday as part of the Exploration Biobank project.

The institute, based in Lisbon, was introduced to the visitors through a brief institutional session led by Fausto Lopo de Carvalho, Chief Operating Officer, Sérgio Dias, Co-Director of the GIMM Biobank, Maria Guedes, Coordinator of Digital Technologies, and Rita Cruz, Project Manager.

This was followed by a visit to some of the main scientific platforms, including the Fish Facility, where visitors were able to learn about GIMM’s technical work.

The highlight was the visit to the Biobank and the laboratory circuits where ESA samples will be processed and stored, ensuring the necessary security and rigor to preserve thousands of samples collected in space and on Earth.

The ESA Biobank will be implemented at GIMM in two phases, with the first months dedicated to developing operational, safety, and transport protocols. The first samples are expected to arrive at the end of 2025.

This unprecedented collaboration makes GIMM the only site in Europe where blood, saliva, and urine samples collected by ESA, both in space and on Earth, will be processed and stored, with the security and rigor required by the Agency fully ensured. More than just a repository, this biobank represents a strategic pillar for biomedical research and the advancement of space medicine, reinforcing the role of GIMM and CAML (Lisbon Academic Medical Centre) in international science.