The Aerospace Medicine and Rehabilitation Laboratory at Northumbria University is a world-leading centre dedicated to understanding how the space environment affects the human body and to developing innovative countermeasures that protect astronaut health during and after spaceflight missions.
Founded in 2015, the lab brings together expertise in aerospace medicine, human and applied physiology, biomechanics, psychology, and rehabilitation and biomedical science to address one of humanity’s greatest challenges: enabling people to live and work healthily beyond Earth. Our research explores how the human body adapts to microgravity and partial gravity, the underpinning mechanisms, and how novel exercise-based interventions can maintain physical function and accelerate recovery.
Through close collaboration with ESA, NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, and the UK Space Agency, private spaceflight companies such as SpaceX and Axiom Space, as well as with leading industry partners such as Western Clinical Engineering, Delfi Medical Innovations Inc., and Kayser Space Ltd, the lab is pioneering new technologies with applications in both spaceflight and terrestrial healthcare.
The Aerospace Medicine and Rehabilitation Laboratory is home to the Variable Gravity Suspension System (VGSS) — a globally unique analogue platform capable of simulating micro- and hypo-gravity conditions — and our technologies are already flying in orbit, including the Personalised Tourniquet System for Spaceflight (PTSS) launched aboard SpaceX’s FRAM2 mission in 2025.The lab’s work contributes to Northumbria University’s Space Research Peak of Excellence, combining academic leadership with commercial translation to create dual-use innovations that benefit both astronauts and humans on Earth.
Research Group Lead
Dr Luke Hughes (luke4.hughes@northumbria.ac.uk)
Explore Our Work
To learn more about the laboratory’s research, technologies, and opportunities for collaboration, explore the sections below:
RESEARCH FOCUS
Discover how we study human adaptation to altered gravity and develop next-generation exercise countermeasures
MAJOR RESEARCH CAMPAIGNS
Explore our contributions to international bedrest and parabolic flight campaigns, as well as our in-flight technology demonstrations
TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS
Learn about our pioneering Blood Flow Restriction exercise device for spaceflight and its dual-use potential
UNIQUE CAPABILITY
See how our globally unique space analogue platform enables micro- and hypo-gravity simulation for research and commercial testing
PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION
Meet our global network of agency, academic, and industry partners shaping the future of space health
COMMERCIAL AND TRANSLATIONAL IMPACT
Discover how we’re bringing space-derived innovations to market and building industry collaborations
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Upcoming events
Broken Bonds: New Perspectives on Marital Breakdown
The Great Hall
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Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence and Abuse Conference 2026
CCE1 - City Campus East 1
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