Bioprinting as an extension of 3D printing offers capabilities
for printing tissues and organs for application in biomedical engineering.
Conducting bioprinting in space, where the gravity is zero, can enable
new frontiers in tissue engineering. Fabrication of soft tissues,
which usually collapse under their own weight, can be accelerated
in microgravity conditions as the external forces are eliminated.
Furthermore, human colonization in space can be supported by providing
critical needs of life and ecosystems by 3D bioprinting without relying
on cargos from Earth, e.g., by development and long-term employment
of living engineered filters (such as sea sponges–known as
critical for initiating and maintaining an ecosystem). This review
covers bioprinting methods in microgravity along with providing an
analysis on the process of shipping bioprinters to space and presenting
a perspective on the prospects of zero-gravity bioprinting.