Dozens of baby squid from Hawaii are aboard the International Space Station, for a study which scientists hope can help bolster human health during long space missions. The baby Hawaiian bobtail squid were raised at the Kewalo Marine Laboratory at the University of Hawaii, then blasted into space earlier this month on a SpaceX resupply mission. Researcher Jamie Foster, who completed her doctorate at the University of Hawaii, is studying how spaceflight affects the squid, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. The squid have a symbiotic relationship with natural bacteria that help regulate their bioluminescence. When an astronaut is in low gravity their body’s relationship with microbes changes, said University of Hawaii professor Margaret McFall-Ngai, who Foster studied under in the 1990s. “We have found that the symbiosis of humans with their microbes is perturbed in microgravity, and Jamie has shown that is true in squid,” said McFall-Ngai. “And, because it’s a simple system, she can get to the bottom of what’s going wrong.” Foster is now a professor in Florida and principal investigator for a Nasa program that researches how microgravity affects the interactions between animals and microbes. “As astronauts spend more and more time in space, their immune systems become what’s called dysregulated. It doesn’t function as well,” Foster said. “Their immune systems don’t recognize bacteria as easily. They sometimes get sick.” Foster said understanding what happens to the squid in space could help solve such problems. “There are aspects of the immune system that just don’t work properly under long-duration spaceflights,” she said. “If humans want to spend time on the moon or Mars, we have to solve health problems to get them there safely.” The Kewalo Marine Laboratory breeds the squid for research projects around the world. The tiny animals are plentiful in Hawaiian waters and are about 3in long as adults. The squid will come back to Earth in July.