DLR - Institute of Aerospace Medicine

Institute of Aerospace Medicine
Köln-Porz

Prof. Dr. med. Rupert Gerzer
Director of the Institute, Köln

Institute of Aerospace Medicine

The Institute of Aerospace Medicine, together with its Hamburg-based Aviation and Space Psychology division as well as its new research facility :envihab, is part of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne-Porz. Within DLR, the Institute of Aerospace Medicine is the only research center focusing on life science questions with regard to aviation, space flight, and traffic.

In the highly technological environment of the future, people will be even more mobile – both on Earth and in space. And they must remain equally healthy and effective in both of these environments. Our Institute of Aerospace Medicine provides for this by developing long-term solutions aimed at increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the system of interdependent effects between humans, machines, and the environment. The institute makes important contributions to the medical areas of prevention, individualization and remote care so as to meet the demands people face, both in today’s society and that of the future.

Working Groups

Flight Medicine Clinic

The Flight Medicine Clinic division of the Institute of Aerospace Medicine works in an interdisciplinary specialist area dealing with the specific requirements of human beings in aviation, space flight, and travel. At the Aeromedical Center (AMC), medical specialists carry out screening examinations to test the suitability and fitness of transport, commercial, and private pilots, air traffic control personnel, cabin crew members, light aircraft pilots, as well as skin and commercial divers.

Biomedical Research

The institute’s biomedical research deals with problems relevant to biology and human physiology. Both internal and external scientists from a wide variety of research and application areas receive support regarding the planning and execution of experiments. Besides its research and development tasks, the division provides scientific and operational support for projects in the areas of human physiology, gravitational biology, and telemedicine.

Flight Physiology

The department of Flight Physiology studies the performance, fatigue and work strain of flight personnel, as well as the specific effects of air, road, and rail traffic on the population. The stress factors that are examined include sleep loss, jetlag, atmospheric pressure changes, noise, and vibrations. Research on these factors is carried out both under strictly controlled laboratory conditions and in field studies under real-life conditions, from which recommendations are then derived.

Aviation and Space Psychology

When carrying out the selection of operative personnel, the Aviation and Space Psychology division (based in Hamburg) takes into account the high demands placed on aviation and space flight personnel. Scientifically based methods of aptitude diagnostics are first developed, then applied and evaluated in cooperation with airlines, air traffic control institutions, and/or space agencies.

Radiation Biology

The Radiation Biology division focuses on relevant aviation and space travel questions with regard to the effects of radiation on humans and the biosphere. The division’s central task is to create the experimental and theoretical conditions necessary to provide effective protection from radiation in aviation and space flight. The insights gained are also increasingly used to solve terrestrial problems. Moreover, the department investigates astrobiological issues with regard to the origin, distribution, and development of life.

Space Physiology

In Space Physiology we examine both how astronauts adjust to life conditions in space and readjust to 1g conditions back on Earth. We primarily deal with the impact on human health of such factors as weightlessness, nutrition, and lack of movement in combination with limited space, isolation, and aging processes.