Caption: Kate Rubins, now of Pitt, shown when she was a NASA astronaut on the International Space Station, checking a sample for air bubbles prior to loading it in the biomolecule sequencer. Photo credit: NASA
By Andrew Doerfler
The Axiom Space University Alliance, which includes the University of Pittsburgh, welcomed 26 more institutions to the collaborative initiative in May, expanding the global community of researchers, engineers and students working to advance microgravity research, technology development and commercial innovation in low-Earth orbit.
The new cohort spans four continents and 12 nations: Australia, India, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uzbekistan.
The space flight and infrastructure company Axiom Space launched the alliance in October 2025 to connect a diverse group of universities in shared efforts to propel innovations in space science. Pitt was among the 15 inaugural members.
The University redoubled its activities in space engineering, space biomedicine and space science with the launch of the Pitt Space initiative in 2024. January 2026 saw the launch of the Trivedi Institute of Space and Global Biomedicine, a new institute focused on applying insights from spaceflight to improve human health on Earth. The $25 million institute is led by Kate Rubins, a microbiologist and former NASA astronaut who spent 300 days in space across two missions. She is now a professor of computational and systems biology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh.
“The expansion of the Axiom Space University Alliance connects Pitt to a global network of researchers working on the questions that will define the next era of space biomedicine,” Rubins said, “and positions the Trivedi Institute to help translate discoveries made in microgravity into better diagnostics, therapies and outcomes for patients here on Earth.”
Member institutions of the University Alliance work together to identify future research priorities, participate in international collaborative scientific initiatives and strengthen national strategic positioning in emerging commercial orbital research activities.
“Through the University Alliance, Axiom Space is uniting the international research community driven to enable human progress,” said Lucie Low, Axiom Space chief science officer. “Together, Alliance members are taking the initiative to ensure microgravity research benefits everyone on Earth and our shared goals fulfill a scientific purpose to advance civilization.”