The focus: 45th congress in Cologne!

The focus: 45th congress in Cologne!

Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln, 50933 Köln, Deutschland - The area of ​​space medicine is becoming increasingly important, as the recently held 44th congress of the International Society for Gravitational Physiology (ISGP) in Sapporo, Japan. This important event took place from May 18 to 24, 2025 and gathered around 200 participants to discuss the biological and physiological effects of gravity on living organisms. In addition to the creation of exchange opportunities between scientists, the presentation was also in the foreground that examine the effects of weightlessness on brain blood flow and activity.

Representatives of the German Sport University Cologne, including Prof. Stefan Schneider and Constance Badalì, were on site to present projects such as Spacecortex, Spaceman and Neuro2 Flight. Prof. Schneider emphasized the continuous commitment of the university in space medicine, which extends over more than 40 years. This orientation of the congress is particularly important with regard to the space initiative of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia (Spacetech.nrw).

important developments and cooperation

The trip to Japan also included two seminars at Waseda University, a partner university of the German Sport University Cologne. Here, a mutual promise for the stronger networking of research activities in the area of ​​life was made, which will further promote international cooperation in the field of space medicine.

The ISGP, which was founded in 1979 and has been converted into a scientific association under French law since 2021, pursues the goal of promoting scientific knowledge of the effects of gravity. It deals not only with the risks in space, but also with the interactions of environmental influences and their influence on living organisms, such as isolation and radiation that occur during room flights.

academic further training in space medicine

In the context of these scientific developments, a new master's degree in space medicine and physiology in extreme environment is offered from the winter semester 2024. Set up together by the Charité - University Medicine Berlin, the Université de Caen Normandie in France and Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School in Slovenia, this course of study will illuminate the health consequences of weightlessness, isolation and extreme conditions.

Research in this area is not only relevant for longer manned flights, but also for the emerging space tourism. It examines the physiological effects that result from stays in weightlessness and includes aspects such as muscle loss, bone loss and psychological stress. Interested parties from the fields of medicine, engineering or natural and movement sciences have the opportunity to apply for 13 available study places, with research in cooperation with organizations such as NASA, ESA and DLR.

students will spend a semester at each of the three universities and receive an Erasmus Mundus master's degree. The language of instruction will be English and the EU supports the course of around 4.7 million euros. These developments show that space medicine is not only a current scientific topic, but also a future vision for research and training initiatives.