Students at the University of Central Florida (UCF) are participating in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (Mission 21), a national competition that allows students to design experiments for launch to the International Space Station. The program at UCF is led by Phil Metzger, planetary scientist and director of UCF’s participation, along with Amy Gregory, associate professor and Faculty Fellow for Space Tourism at Rosen College of Hospitality Management.
“We’ve been encouraging students to think beyond science and engineering,” Metzger says. “Working with Rosen College helps make this a true UCF collaboration — one that shows space can connect to every discipline.”
On UCF’s main campus, student projects include developing ways to clean clothes in zero gravity and investigating crystal and yeast growth in microgravity. At Rosen College, students are examining how food and beverage preparation can be adapted for long-term space travel. This includes experimenting with tofu coagulation, texture, and preservation techniques as potential food options for astronauts and future space tourists.
“Up to this point, space research has focused on getting there,” Gregory says. “Our students are asking what comes next — what happens when people live and work in space? Food is at the heart of that conversation because it’s nourishment, medicine and community all in one.”
The research from Rosen College is also being incorporated into coursework through a new module on food and beverage in space within the Techniques of Food Preparation course taught by Chef César Rivera Cruzado. This approach allows hospitality students to link their academic studies with practical research on how their field intersects with science and technology beyond Earth.
“This is an area that’s growing fast,” Rivera-Cruzado says. “Space tourism is coming in less than 10 years — maybe even five — and every sector will have an opportunity to contribute. For us, that means learning what food and hospitality look like off the planet.”
Rosen College has also established connections with members of the space industry, including engineers, astronauts, chefs such as José Andrés, as well as representatives from Blue Origin and Axiom Space. These collaborations aim to explore opportunities related to space hospitality and culinary equipment development.
According to UCF officials, these initiatives reflect the university’s ongoing commitment to preparing students for emerging fields by fostering interdisciplinary collaboration across campuses.
