ARPA-H’s COSMOS initiative aims to prove or disprove whether microgravity exposure in Low Earth Orbit accelerates tissue aging across brain, cardiac, uterine, and kidney tissues and multiple adult age brackets. If space-based tissue aging exceeds Earth-based rates enough to beat the Earth breakeven cost for new drug R&D, COSMOS would create a first-in-class, fully autonomous, high-throughput drug screening platform in LEO that is faster and more cost-effective than Earth-based R&D. ARPA-H anticipates multiple Other Transaction awards from this announcement. The Innovative Solutions Opening was updated by Amendment 01 on 17 September 2026, with Q&A posted on 21 September 2026, and Amendment 02 on 23 September 2026, followed by additional Q&A on 25 September 2026.

ARPA-H's COSMOS Initiative seeks to definitively prove or disprove whether microgravity exposure in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) accelerates aging across brain, cardiac, uterine, and kidney tissues and multiple adult age brackets. If the Tissue Aging Rate in Space (TARIS) exceeds the Tissue Aging Rate on Earth (TAROE) beyond Earth's breakeven cost for new drug R&D, COSMOS would establish a first-in-class platform for fully autonomous, high-throughput drug screening in LEO that is more cost-effective and faster than Earth-based drug R&D. ARPA-H anticipates multiple Other Transaction awards from this announcement. Interested parties should review the attached COSMOS Innovative Solutions Opening, including Amendment 01 issued 17 September 2026, a Q&A provided 21 September 2026, and Amendment 02 issued 23 September 2026 updating COSMOS details, mandatory experimental design, and Figure 2.

ARPA-H’s COSMOS initiative aims to prove or disprove whether microgravity exposure in Low Earth Orbit accelerates tissue aging across brain, cardiac, uterine, and kidney tissues and multiple adult age brackets. If the Tissue Aging Rate in Space exceeds the Tissue Aging Rate on Earth by more than Earth’s breakeven cost for new drug R&D, COSMOS would create a first-in-class, fully autonomous, high-throughput drug screening platform in LEO that is faster and more cost-effective than Earth-based drug R&D. ARPA-H anticipates multiple Other Transaction awards. Interested parties can review the attached COSMOS Innovative Solutions Opening, with a September 17, 2026 amendment updating hyperlinks and the Solutions summary portal. A September 21, 2026 Q&A is informational only and does not amend the solicitation, and all other questions are due by September 23, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET.

The ARPA-H COSMOS initiative seeks to prove or disprove whether microgravity exposure in Low Earth Orbit accelerates tissue aging across brain, cardiac, uterine, and kidney tissues and multiple adult age brackets. If the Tissue Aging Rate in Space exceeds the Earth rate by enough to beat Earth’s breakeven cost for new drug R&D, COSMOS would establish a first-in-class platform for fully autonomous, high-throughput drug screening in LEO that is faster and more cost-effective than Earth-based R&D. ARPA-H anticipates multiple Other Transaction awards from this announcement. An amendment dated 17 September 2026 updates hyperlinks and information on the Solutions summary portal, and interested parties are invited to download and review the attached Innovative Solutions Opening.

ARPA-H’s COSMOS initiative seeks to prove or disprove whether microgravity exposure in Low Earth Orbit accelerates tissue aging in brain, cardiac, uterine, and kidney tissues across multiple adult age brackets. If the Tissue Aging Rate in Space exceeds the Tissue Aging Rate on Earth by more than the terrestrial breakeven cost for new drug R&D, COSMOS would create a first-in-class platform for fully autonomous, high-throughput drug screening in LEO. That platform is intended to be more cost-effective and faster than new drug R&D conducted on Earth. ARPA-H anticipates multiple Other Transaction awards from this announcement. Interested parties are invited to download and review the attached COSMOS Innovative Solutions Opening.