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A room-temperature probiotic built on bacterial spores.
SpaceBiotic is a probiotic capsule built on bacterial spores. Spores are the dormant, tough form of certain bacteria, and they are the format that kept more than a billion live organisms per capsule through a simulated 3-year Mars round trip in an independent study.
Most conventional probiotics rely on live, active cells that need cool, dry storage and lose viability over months. A spore format changes the logistics: the capsule is stored at room temperature in barrier packaging, with no refrigerator and no resupply-driven replacement schedule.
On a long mission the gut, skin, nose and tongue microbial communities all shift. SpaceBiotic is intended to give crews a dependable daily source of beneficial bacteria, and it is the anchor of our gut and immune programme.
The problem
In astronauts on 6 to 12 month ISS missions, gut, skin, nose and tongue microbes all shifted, with changes linked to skin rashes and immune alteration.
Source: published spaceflight studies and NASA planning figures; refers to work by other groups.
The science
Why this approach.
A probiotic only helps if live, viable organisms reach the gut. Conventional products depend on vegetative cells that are sensitive to heat, moisture and time, which is why many need refrigeration and carry short expiry dates. Some bacteria respond to stress by forming endospores: dormant, thick-coated structures that can wait out years of drying and temperature swings and germinate when conditions improve.
SpaceBiotic uses that biology as a delivery format. Rather than fighting degradation with cold storage, the strain spends its shelf life as a spore. The challenge is to show, with our own strain and our own packaging, that viable counts hold through accelerated five-year storage, simulated cosmic radiation and simulated microgravity, and that the spores germinate and behave as expected in the gut.
In use
Across the length of a mission.
How this product is intended to fit into a crew's routine, from loading to return.
Capsules packed in barrier packaging and stored at room temperature with the crew supplies.
Daily use alongside the prebiotic blend, with intake logged for later comparison with microbiome data.
Continues on the surface, where stored supplies must last years without resupply.
Unused capsules provide stability data; returned samples are re-tested for viable counts.
Design
Four decisions that shape it.
Spore-forming strain
A bacterial strain chosen for its ability to form durable spores that survive dry storage and stress.
Barrier packaging
Moisture and oxygen barriers protect the capsule through years of room-temperature storage.
Safety screen first
Each candidate strain is screened across its whole genome for resistance, virulence and toxin genes before it advances.
Pairs with prebiotics
Designed to be taken alongside the Prebiotic Fibre and SCFA Support Blend.
Risks
What could go wrong, and what we do about it.
| Risk | How we address it |
|---|---|
| Viability falls over time | Accelerated storage studies and packaging optimisation, with viable counts at every time point. |
| Strain safety | Whole-genome screening and conservative strain choice before any human study. |
| Effect unclear in crews | Evidence grading and analog-crew studies before any claim is made. |
Test plan
Ground, analog, orbit.
A staged programme: ground first, then analog crews, then flight.
Ground testing
Five-year accelerated storage, simulated cosmic radiation and simulated microgravity, with viable counts at each point.
Isolated-crew studies
Tolerance and gut-microbiome studies in analog settings such as Antarctic stations.
Flight testing
Passive payload on a space station, with samples returned for analysis.
Partnerships
Agencies, institutes and station operators for co-development and licensing.
Questions
FAQ.
Why spores?
Spores are dormant and resistant to dryness, heat and stress, which is what long, unrefrigerated storage demands.
Has it been proven in space?
No. The simulated Mars round trip result comes from an independent study of the spore format. Our own product is in development and has not been proven in space.
Related
Works well with.
Prebiotic Fibre and SCFA Support Blend
Fibre that feeds the beneficial bacteria already in the gut.
In developmentRead more02Bone-Support Probiotic
A probiotic aimed at the gut-bone connection.
Research programmeRead more03Immune Resilience Stack
Spore probiotic plus immune-supporting ingredients for isolated crews.
Research programmeRead moreAll products on this site are under research and development. They are not approved or cleared by any regulator and are not available for sale. Nothing here is medical advice, and no product is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Descriptions of research refer to published studies by other groups and do not claim that our products have been proven in space. SpaceBiotic Spore Capsule is a product under research and development and is not available for sale.
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