Bringing Space Science Back to Earth | Stars Launch Pod

Susan Wise:
Hi, and welcome to Stars Launch Pod, Space Technology and Research Sciences, brought to you by StarSciences.org, where we connect, collaborate, and accelerate.
I’m your host, Susan Wise, and Dr. David Pollock is the founder of Star Sciences—with a single mission: to unite scientists, researchers, academia, and industry to connect, collaborate, and accelerate the future of space and life sciences.

Dr. David Pollock, welcome to your show.

David:
Well, thank you.

Susan Wise:
Thank you for having me. It’s such an honor to have you here, David—it really is. I’ve known you for a long time, but I’d love for you to share a little bit more about yourself with our listeners.

David:
Yes, we’ve known each other for a long time, and we always seem to have a lot of fun. So, it’s great to be here with you today. You’ve had so many brilliant scientists and well-known people on this show—it’s exciting for me to be included.
You asked about my background—so, for about 30 years, I’ve been formulating products for some of the biggest brands out there, mainly in dermatological and topical products. I’ve focused on anti-aging delivery systems and discovering new technologies that have changed the skincare and dermatological industry.

Susan Wise:
That gets my attention immediately—women of a certain age!

David:
You start thinking about it—it’s not just for ladies or just for men—but you often don’t think about the life sciences side of space, which is what got me involved in this. We’ll talk more about that in a second.
Our brave men and women who go into space—these heroic individuals—face all kinds of challenges. They’re susceptible to burns, they lose collagen, their skin reacts differently. So, we started looking at what we could do to help them—not just with skin, but also in life sciences overall.

Susan Wise:
I think that’s exciting, because what works in space might also be useful here on Earth.

David:
Exactly—and that leads into what we focus on.
I guess, growing up, I loved watching all the launches—and I still do. I’m like a little kid; it’s a lot of fun. But you usually focus on the vehicle or the spacecraft going into space, and you’re impressed by the heroic men and women who go. I’ve got to tell you, I think I’d have a heart attack if I were sitting in that chair on the launch pad—

Susan Wise:
It’s true.

David:
—just waiting for the button to be pushed!
But you don’t often think about the life sciences side. How do they survive up there? What do they eat? How do they take care of their health—their skin? What if they go on a mission to Mars? If they’re spending a year there and a year coming back, how do we take care of something as simple as a bad tooth?
I was at the dentist the other day and thought—what do they do if they need a tooth pulled or lose a cap? These may sound like small things, but they matter in space. Now, some of the brightest minds in the world are solving these problems—and our goal is to bring those innovations back to Earth. That’s really where our focus is, especially in zero-gravity sciences.

Susan Wise:
When it comes to science and the space industry, what are you doing to further the space industry? I know Stars Launch Pod is a big part of that—gathering people together, giving us a place to communicate and share ideas.

David:
Yes—and I’ll talk more about that. One of the areas we’re focused on is zero gravity—or microgravity, scientifically speaking. For consumers, we often call it zero gravity.
I was at a scientific meeting where they presented 3D stem cells, and I thought—what’s the difference?
Here on Earth, we’ve had great breakthroughs with stem cells, but gravity pulls them to the bottom of the Petri dish. They don’t get nourished as well, don’t grow as nutrient-dense, and don’t grow as fast. But in microgravity, because of NASA technology, we can cultivate them more effectively.

It’s been tested on nine space missions—they’ve helped replace a tooth, grow part of a beating heart. We’ve harnessed that nutrient-dense technology for topical use to help repair skin, and we’ve proven it in many clinical studies. That got me excited. I thought—wait a minute, all this technology exists in space. We wanted to team up with NASA and others to bring it back to Earth.

Susan Wise:
So, was that your “aha” moment—or was there something else?

David:
You’d think that would be it—and it certainly got me excited about space and all the brilliant minds behind it. I’ve done this for 30 years, but walking into a room with these scientists—you realize just how smart and passionate they are.

My real “aha” moment came during a meeting when we were walking through one of the space center labs. Scientists were running experiments testing different polymers. I asked, “Why are you testing all these polymers?”
They said, “We want to see how different polymers react in this experiment, and how they’ll perform in space.”
I asked, “Why not call the polymer department?” They said, “We don’t have one.”
“Okay, what about materials?” “We don’t have that either.”
“Then call one of your vendors.” “We don’t have a database of approved vendors.”

I thought—wait a minute, something’s wrong here.

Susan Wise:
You have all the science, but no one’s talking to each other.

David:
Exactly. So, they’re doing experiments that may be duplicated elsewhere—wasting time, money, and energy. They explained that NASA was started under the Department of Defense, so they operate in silos for good reasons. That made sense to a point—but I thought, imagine if we could work together and share non-confidential information.

What polymers have been tested? What experiments are available to the public—or could be shared under confidentiality or licensing agreements?
How can we collaborate?

That was my “aha” moment for STARS—Space Technology and Research Sciences. I wanted to bring all these brilliant minds together—to share information, ask questions, and even share vendor databases to streamline costs, shorten timelines, and accelerate our mission into space.

Susan Wise:
And it’s already exciting, David. We’ve had people from all different areas of space science and research on this show—and I can’t wait to see who’s next. We’ve talked about growing peppers in space, mapping trees, astronauts, and so much more.

David:
It’s amazing. There’s such a unique group of people. When most of us think of astronauts, we think of pilots flying spacecraft—but many of them are scientists conducting experiments in space.
And people often ask, “What does that have to do with us on Earth?” But so many everyday things wouldn’t exist without the space program—cloud computing, memory foam, bifocal lenses, LED beauty tools, even Velcro and water purification systems.

Susan Wise:
Velcro!

David:
Yes—and water purification. I could go on and on. I remember one meeting where someone said, “Today’s coffee is tomorrow’s coffee.”

Susan Wise:
Charlie Armstrong!

David:
Yes! And I laughed—but then realized what they meant. I thought, “Wait… that’s everyone’s coffee?” And that’s when I realized—maybe I’m not cut out to go into space! But that example shows how necessity drives innovation.

Our goal at Star Sciences is to bring these brilliant minds together—to connect, collaborate, and accelerate efforts that help both space and Earth.

Susan Wise:
Of course, these things don’t come without challenges. What’s been one of your biggest challenges, and how did you overcome it?

David:
I can’t say we’ve completely overcome it yet. As I mentioned, many industries operate in silos. So when we say we want to connect everyone, the first reaction from corporations is, “We don’t want our secrets getting out.”
Even in space research, departments don’t always share with each other. But when you talk to executives, they often say, “We’d like to collaborate—we just need protection.”

That’s what STARS is about: finding a way to collaborate while keeping things confidential. Our biggest challenge is outreach—making everyone aware that it’s possible to work together safely and effectively.

Susan Wise:
Before we wrap up, what’s one piece of advice you’d like to share with our listeners?

David:
Never give up. There have been so many times in my career when I’ve wanted to quit—times when people told me I was crazy. But a motivational speaker once said, “You’re exactly where you want to be.”
He meant that only you can change tomorrow. Get up, make the calls, do the research, run the experiments—because if you don’t change it, no one will. So, never give up.

Susan Wise:
That’s great advice. Let’s talk a little about your passion project. I know it’s close to your heart—I even use some of your products! I see bits of that mission reflected there. Would you share more about it?

David:
I don’t talk about it often because it’s deeply personal. My wife is Filipino—we’ve been married about 12 years—and she’s from the Philippines, a country with many challenges. We focus on helping young girls who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to finish school.

Because of financial hardship, many have to drop out, marry young, or work to support their families. We help fund their education—middle school, high school, and college—so they can change not only their own lives, but those of future generations.

We donate a percentage of everything that comes in to support this mission. When you hear their stories, it’s hard not to get emotional. We talk to them often, travel there several times a year, and have a local team overseeing everything. It’s truly a passion project to change the world—one student at a time.

Susan Wise:
That’s beautiful, David. Thank you for sharing your story and your passion. I’m so excited to be a small part of it. I hope we can visit again—maybe once a month—to find out what’s new with you.

David:
We’d love that! You’re a big part of what we do, and we enjoy hearing stories from different scientists, astronauts, and innovators. It’s inspiring—not just for my generation, but for the next generation of scientists too.

We’ll be launching several new tools on our website soon, and by the next time we talk, I’ll have more updates to share.

Susan Wise:
Wonderful. Dr. David Pollock, founder of Star Sciences—thank you so much for being on the show today.

David:
Thank you.

Susan Wise:
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Until next time—keep looking up.