Episode 183: Michael Schmidt on the challenges of building a space-faring civilization @IHMC

Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago

Today we have the second installment of our interview with Dr. Michael A. Schmidt, the founder, CEO, and Chief Scientific Officer of Sovaris Aerospace, a company focused on assessments and solutions applied to humans in space and extreme environments on Earth.

In today’s interview, we talk to Michael about NASA’s plans to send humans to Mars and build permanent colonies on the Moon and Mars. We also talk to Michael about his recent book, “Building a Space-Faring Civilization,” (amazon.com/Building-Space-Faring-Civilization-Renaissance-Performance-ebook/dp/B0DQLJPJ3K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1O5ET9CV0JXU8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.0EI3xz1uCG04hUyryPthWCUMqglncep2jV4fpTFwVC0.Uao1AAzHVFye77lsL378OcyrBJ6jz1n_YjU9go8Dwh0&dib_tag=se&keywords=Building+a+space+Michael+Schmidt&qid=1738853655&sprefix=building+a+space+michael+schmidt%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-1) which addresses the challenges of civilian spaceflight and the construction of space settlements.

In part one of our interview, Episode 182 (ihmc.us/stemtalk/episode-182/) , we talked with Michael about his pioneering work in the field of precision medicine and how he has used it to improve the cognitive and physical performance of astronauts as well as NBA, NFL players and Special Operations forces.

In addition to his work with Sovaris, Michael also is a professor of aerospace medicine at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, one of the few programs in the U.S. that offers a medical residency in aerospace medicine.

For full shownotes, visit our STEM-Talk library, ihmc.us/stemtalk/episode-183

Episode 183: Michael Schmidt on the challenges of building a space-faring civilization

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