The best biosphere space startups
6 biosphere companies in the directory, ranked by disclosed funding ($660M raised between them), spanning 4 countries.
Keeping people and biology alive away from Earth. Life support and food production, space medicine, and the microgravity labs running the biological experiments that make longer missions survivable and, occasionally, produce something worth bringing home.
Updated 6 October 2026 · 4 milestones in the last 90 days · Follow by RSS
State of the sector
As of 27 September 2026
Interstellar Lab grows plants in sealed BioPods, for space and for farms on Earth. Leap Biosystems develops medical technology for astronauts that also works in hospitals. SpacePharma runs experiments in microgravity labs, and Cemvita Factory engineers microbes that turn carbon dioxide into useful chemicals.
Cemvita Factory completed a 75,000-litre bio-oil run at a European pilot plant in June 2026, after signing a bio-oil agreement with Sumitomo do Brasil in March. Vast's Haven-1 station is now due no earlier than 2027.
Latest milestones
Every dated event from the companies below, newest first, each with its source.
Axiom Space: Confirms links between its two orbital compute nodes on Kepler satellites and to the groundAxiom Space: Orders roll-out solar array wings from Redwire for its second station module
Vast: Sets up a Lunar Programs division to apply Haven hardware to power, communications and habitats on the MoonVast: ESA signs for Greek ESA astronaut Adrianos Golemis to fly on Vast's NASA private astronaut mission to the ISS
Cemvita Factory: Completes a 75,000 litre FermOil run at a European pilot plantCemvita Factory: Sumitomo do Brasil signs a Brazil bio-oil agreementVast: Raises $500M, a $300M Series A plus debt, led by Balerion Space VenturesVast: NASA selects Vast for the sixth private astronaut mission to the ISS, targeted for no earlier than summer 2027Vast: Completes the Haven Demo mission with a controlled deorbit into the South PacificVast: Haven Demo, an uncrewed pathfinder, flies on Bandwagon-4 to validate Haven-1 systemsShow 24 earlier milestones
Axiom Space: Jonathan Cirtain, already president, becomes chief executiveAxiom Space: Ax-4 docks with the ISS carrying astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary
SpacePharma: Its crystallisation lab flies on Fram2, the first crewed polar-orbit mission, and returns with the crewSpacePharma: EIC Accelerator awards a €2 million grant for SPACTORYCemvita Factory: United Airlines signs an offtake for up to a billion gallons of fuelVast: Announces Haven-1, a single-module commercial station, and a crewed Vast-1 visit on DragonSpacePharma: CUTISS skin cell experiment flies to the ISS on CRS-27Cemvita Factory: Gold H2 completes its spin-out as a separate companyCemvita Factory: Forms the Gold H2 subsidiary after a Permian gold hydrogen field testAxiom Space: NASA picks Axiom to build the Artemis III moonwalking spacesuits, a task order with a $228.5M base valueCemvita Factory: Pivots out of space, dropping in-space biomanufacturingSpacePharma: ICE Cubes lab installed on the ISS via Axiom-1Axiom Space: Ax-1, the first all-private astronaut mission, docks with the ISS for a 17-day stay
Leap Biosystems: Serves as payload integrator and trainer for Mark Pathy's Ax-1 missionCemvita Factory: Closes the first tranche of a Series A led by 8090 PartnersSpacePharma: DIDO-3 microgravity research satellite reaches orbitCemvita Factory: Occidental's venture arm takes an equity stakeLeap Biosystems: Dave Williams, physician and two-flight shuttle astronaut, becomes president and CEOCemvita Factory: Takes second place in the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre challengeAll 6 biosphere companies
Ranked by disclosed funding.
How many biosphere space startups are there in 2026?
Space Bandits tracks 6 biosphere companies, 6 of them active, with $660M in disclosed funding between them.
What is the latest news from biosphere startups?
The most recent milestone on record is from Axiom Space, dated 6 October 2026: "Confirms links between its two orbital compute nodes on Kepler satellites and to the ground."
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