1 Apr 2025
Researchers are investigating how stress resilience develops in space and which biomarkers play a role in this process as part of the Fram2 mission. The mission began on 31 March and brings together 27 European institutions involved in space research.
As the first manned flight to orbit both poles of the Earth, the mission has an international crew on board, including Rabea Rogge, an electrical engineer and polar researcher from Berlin, who will be the first German female astronaut in space.
Each member of the civilian crew from different countries contributes their unique expertise to the mission's goals of gaining scientific knowledge and improving the capabilities of human spaceflight.
LMU Hospital is leading the SpaceXposome study to investigate stress resilience in space. In collaboration with Portugal's Lusófona University, SpaceXposome aims to identify biomarkers for stress and improve astronaut well-being, with clinical applications for managing stress-related illnesses.
These efforts are critical to preparing astronauts for future human space missions and underscore Fram2's mission to push the boundaries of human exploration.
At LMU Hospital, Prof. Alexander Choukér and PD Dr Judith-Irina Buchheim have been researching the relationship between stress and the immune system for many years. There are certain parallels between astronauts in space and intensive care patients in a hospital. A selection of projects is presented here: Stress and the immune system in extreme environments | Department of Anaesthesiology