Hooray!!! Hibernation time is over. Rosetta’s lander Philae is out of “the deep sleep”! After a 7-month hibernation period, Philae finally “spoke” this weekend. And, according to project manager Stephan Ulamec of the European Space Agency, she is doing very well. It looks like the hibernation period has not severely damaged Philae. That’s great news, but we from Sulfateq/ROKEPIE® are not surprised, as hibernation is the natural way to survive bad times without suffering any damage to vital parts of the body.
How come hibernation prevents internal damage?
In our earlier blog about Philae going into hibernation, we wrote a short explanation: Before an animal goes into hibernation, they eat a lot to collect and store fat. During the hibernation period the metabolism changes towards minimal need for oxygen and nutrition, so blood cells of the hibernating animal cools down to temperatures just above freezing point without cell damage or even loosing vitality. This natural chemistry preserves the vital organs and brain function during these bad circumstances. When the animal finally wakes up, he is immediately active again without any severe damage. All thanks to this bioregulating, protective proces called hibernation!
The Power of Hibernation
Hibernation did not just “rescue” Philae, in the future it will rescue humans too! Several studies have indicated that the phenomenom of hibernation can be used for medical purposes as well. In fact, Sulfateq already uses it for the benefit of human medicine. After profound studies, a number of effective compounds have been identified and synthesized by us for therapeutic applications, like the development of drugs for serious diseases such as COPD and Acute Kidney Failure (AKI). One of these so-called SUL-compounds is used in our innovative product ROKEPIE®, which preserves and protects cells and tissues at 2-8°C in the R&D market. So maybe Philae used a bottle of ROKEPIE® before she went into her deep sleep in order to protect her mission?