JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s blast off for a childhood dream for a Jacksonville doctor.

Stem cell research done at the Mayo Clinic will be on board the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket set to launch early Sunday morning.

Mayo Clinic wants to test the effect of zero gravity on stem cell growth, so the rocket will bring the cells to the International Space Station.

“It’s about giving hope,” Dr. Abba Zubair said. “Some solutions, you may have to go far or think out of the box to find the answers.”

While researching how stem cells could help people who’ve lost bone density, Zubair certainly thought outside the box — way outside the box: all the way to outer space.

“This is my childhood dream,” Zubair said. “I wanted to be an astronaut, well I wound up being a doctor. I tried to link my passion and vision, being in space with what I do.”

NASA picked Zubair’s stem cell research at the Mayo Clinic to go on the SpaceX Falcon 9 for an experiment.

“The problem with stem cells is they are so hard to grow, so we’re exploring if the absence of gravity will allow us to grow them at a faster rate,” Zubair said.

“This study would shed light on biology, how our body functions and treatment for bone loss, which could be applied on Earth,” Zubair added.

The other half of Zubair’s research will test a new compound to see if it can help slow bone loss among astronauts.

“Even though they are doing a lot of exercise, they lose about 1% of their bone mass per month,” Zubair said.

Zubair says studies like this are necessary for astronauts to take the next step in space exploration.

“If we’re thinking humans in the future will be a multi-planetary species where they can colonize Mars or other planets, we need to understand how our body would function in this environment,” Zubair said.

While it’s just the stem cells rocketing off for now, Zubair says he’s just waiting for the call for the chance to scratch astronaut off the bucket list and conduct the research in person.

“I still have some gray hair, but I run and exercise to stay ready, just in case opportunity comes,” Zubair said.

Zubair plans to watch the SpaceX launch in person at 2:45 a.m. Sunday down in Cape Canaveral.

It won’t only have the Mayo Clinic stem cells, but also thousands of pounds of supplies for the astronauts and the space station.