Prof. R. Gerzer

Space physiology has the advantage to study physiology without the disturbing factor of gravity that influences basically all body functions. Thus, omitting this factor helps to verify or improve concepts on the functioning of the human body.
Also other aspects of physiological studies in or for space can help to resolve important future tasks of medicine.

The main future tasks of medicine - besides the task to understand physiological and pathophysiological reaction patterns of the human body - are

1) to understand the interactions of various body systems under different conditions
2) to understand the importance of geno- and phenotypes for individual reaction patterns
3) to bring individualized advice to the individual wherever and whenever the advise is needed
4) to do diagnosis and, if necessary, treatment, as non-invasively as possible.

All these challenges are at the same time challenges of space physiology. Therefore, in the future of space physiology, we should not only try to understand the influences of the space environment on different body systems and to try to learn more about physiology, but go one step further and try to be main players helping to introduce the shift in paradigm that will revolutionize medicine:

from the current concept of "patient to expertise"
towards the future concept "expertise to the individual".

Therefore, approaches in space physiology should involve integrated team approaches, and results from studies should be fed into modelling programmes that will eventually be used to predict individual reaction patterns. This will only be possible, if consortia of leading investigators are formed cooperating on the task to enable the "digital human".

In the US, such a consortium has formed already. The strategy of this consortium, the US Institution NSBRI, is strongly supported by our Institution, the Institute of Aerospace Medicine at DLR in Cologne, Germany.

We hope that such a joint approach of close worldwide cooperation will also be part of the future European strategy for space physiology.

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