Space Physiology and Microgravity


Welcome to the website presenting the contribution of Swedish researchers to making long-term human spaceflight a real and safe endeavor.


This is the public forum for scientists from Swedish institutions studying how the space exposome (i.e. microgravity, radiation, psychological stress and confinement) affects the normal functioning of living systems – from single cells to humans. Researchers working on the effects of microgravity on materials science are also represented in this forum.

We use a number of platforms to accomplish our goals, such as the International Space Station, sounding rockets, bed rest, and other Earth-based space analogs.

NameInstituteField of Research
ร…sa BerggrenDepartment of Ecology, the Swedish university of Agricultural SciencesEcology
Rodrigo Fernandez GonzaloKarolinska InstitutetSkeletal muscle and human physiology
Stefania GiacomelloSciLifeLab, KTH Royal Institute of TechnologySpatial genomics
Dag LinnarssonKarolinska InstitutetCardiopulmonary physiology
Lisa WesterbergKarolinska InstitutetImmunodeficiency diseases

ProjectPIYear
Unloaded Minds โ€“ How prolonged unloading shapes human performance in lunar gravityRodrigo Fernandez Gonzalo2025
Single nuclei RNA sequencing in human skeletal muscle after unloading (SNSA & KI)Rodrigo Fernandez Gonzalo2024
Hemoglobin mass, exercise capacity and orthostatic tolerance after 60 days of bed rest: Effects of combined exercise and artificial gravityDag Linnarsson2023
The impact of spaceflight on the brain at spatial single-cell resolutionStefania Giacomello2023
The impact of spaceflight on the heart at spatial single-cell resolutionStefania Giacomello2023
Transcriptomic Regulation of Bedrest-Induced Muscle and Immune System Alterations: Investigating the Role of Long Non-Coding RNA (SNSA & ESA)Rodrigo Fernandez Gonzalo2022
Gene expression and cytoskeletal changes of T cells in microgravity โ€“ short term study using Esrange sounding rocket (SNSA, ESA, SSC)Lisa Westerberg2021
Gene expression changes of T cells in microgravity โ€“ long term study using 21 days of exposure in dry immersion beds (SNSA)Lisa Westerberg2018
Insects in circular systems – on Earth & in Spaceร…sa Berggren

Cover Image: ESA