Baromedical Laboratory II is based at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Cologne. The facility consists of a pressure chamber complex and a separate low-pressure chamber for simulating altered pressure and atmospheric conditions, as well as closed atmospheric cycles.
The facility is used to research the effects of extreme pressure conditions and altered atmospheric composition on human health; this has applications in space and air travel, as well as mountaineering (oxygen deficiency, decompression, pressure equalisation, etc.). It is possible to simulate working conditions in aircraft and spacecraft realistically in order to study the resulting stresses to which pilots, passengers and astronauts are subjected.
The capability to generate rapid pressure changes makes it possible to simulate emergency scenarios in an aeronautical or spaceflight context. Pressure profiles that occur in everyday situations can also be studied; one example of this is high-speed train travel.
