Dr. Jamie Foster on Squid in Space, Microbial Innovation & Future Mars Missions | STARS Launch Pod

Welcome to Launch Pod, where we chat with innovators who are overcoming challenges, pushing boundaries, and collaborating to make space more accessible and sustainable for humanity—one launch at a time, one small step at a time. Demand. Here’s your host, Susan Wise.

Susan Wise: Welcome to Stars Launch Pod—Space Technology and Research Sciences. I’m your host, Susan Wise, and joining us is Dr. Jamie Foster, professor at the University of Florida’s Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, based at the Space Life Sciences Lab. Welcome.

Jamie Foster: Thank you. Thank you for having me on your program. It’s exciting to be here.

Susan Wise: We’re honored to have you. Tell us a little more about what you do.

Jamie Foster: Right. So, as you mentioned, I’m a professor at the University of Florida, but my research lab is actually located at the Kennedy Space Center in a place called the Space Life Sciences Lab. We study how humans, animals, and the microbes we bring with us thrive and survive in the space environment—and how all the stresses of being in space affect our health. That’s been a major focus for my team.

Susan Wise: That’s exciting—not just for Earth, but beyond Earth.

Jamie Foster: Exactly—maybe the Moon or Mars. We’re definitely looking outward. We believe humanity will eventually become a multi-planetary species, so here at the University of Florida, we’re working to prepare humanity for living beyond our biosphere. The first steps will likely be on the Moon, then Mars, and eventually… who knows where else.

Susan Wise: Wow. What prepared you for this career?

Jamie Foster: Honestly—a healthy dose of science fiction and curiosity. I grew up watching Star Trek—“Live long and prosper!”—and in the early 1980s, Carl Sagan’s Cosmos program. We only had a black-and-white TV at the time, but even those monochrome images of the universe fascinated me. I knew I wanted to be part of that world.

I always wanted to be an astronaut—and maybe someday I still could, since more people are going to space. But I decided that if I couldn’t go myself, at least my science could. That’s what motivated me to keep working toward a career in space sciences and space biology.

Susan Wise: What are you working on now to help advance space exploration?

Jamie Foster: I have two major projects right now. One—this might sound funny—is sending squid to space. The species is the bobtail squid, which has a special organ that hosts symbiotic bacteria. It’s a great model for understanding how microbes start and maintain relationships with animals, and how they help maintain health under stresses like microgravity or radiation.

The second project is focused on on-demand manufacturing for space. Since we can’t carry everything we need—there’s no Home Depot or Walmart halfway to Mars—we’re engineering microbes to make essential products during missions. That could mean therapeutics, vitamins, or nutrients that can be added to food or purified as medicine. Pharmaceuticals have a shelf life, so being able to produce them when needed could be critical.

We’re also exploring microbial solutions for material recycling. For example, a colleague here is working on microbes that break down plastics from packaging and waste. These technologies could help astronauts—and they could have big benefits here on Earth, too.

Susan Wise: That would be fabulous here on Earth!

Jamie Foster: Exactly. While the goal is to keep astronauts alive on missions, the technology can solve problems we face here—like plastic waste or limited access to medicine in remote locations.

Susan Wise: Have you had an “aha” moment in your career?

Jamie Foster: One of the most satisfying moments was seeing my first spaceflight experiment launch. It took about 10 years from idea to liftoff. Watching that rocket go up was incredible—and the results confirmed how important microbes are for maintaining our health. It felt like finishing a marathon—you wonder why you’re doing it along the way, but when you cross the finish line, you just want to do it again.

Susan Wise: What’s one of your biggest challenges, and how did you overcome it?

Jamie Foster: Honestly—believing in myself and my ideas. When I first proposed sending squid to space, people thought it was crazy. But I persisted, took opportunities when they came, and stayed committed. It took a decade from concept to launch. The key was trusting my instincts and never giving up on an idea I believed in.

Susan Wise: How can the public follow your work?

Jamie Foster: You can follow me on LinkedIn, but I’m also an assistant director at the Astraeus Space Institute at the University of Florida. We send all kinds of experiments to space—plant research, microbial studies, you name it. People can visit our website, A-S-T-R-A-E-U-S, named after the Greek god of the stars and planets. We also host public events so people can meet space scientists and get involved.

Susan Wise: Before we wrap up, do you have a piece of advice for our listeners?

Jamie Foster: Trust yourself, trust your instincts, and do your homework. There’s a vast body of knowledge out there, so vet your ideas carefully. If your concept is solid and rooted in fact, it can grow into something big—literally space big.

Susan Wise: Do you name the squid?

Jamie Foster: No, we don’t name them—but I do take pride in knowing they’ve flown on the space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station multiple times. My microbes have now been to space five times, and it never gets old. When you find something you truly love, work hard at it and be the best you can be.

Susan Wise: Great advice. Dr. Jamie Foster, thank you so much for joining us on Launch Pod.

Jamie Foster: Thank you—it’s been great.

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