Extreme environments and spaceflight analogues provide unique opportunities to study human neurophysiology and adaptation. The Center for Space Medicine and Extreme Environments at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin integrates multimodal neuroimaging techniques with EEG as well as additional physiological and behavioral data to investigate neural changes during prolonged inactivity, altered gravity, isolation, and other operational stressors. These projects have highlighted the need for structured training pathways to prepare researchers, clinicians, and engineers for the rapidly evolving field of space medicine.

A major step in this direction is the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Physiology and Medicine of Humans in Space and Extreme Environments (SpaceMed), funded by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (Project 101127568). SpaceMed is a fully integrated 120-ECTS programme jointly delivered by the Université de Caen Normandie (France), Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Germany), and the Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School (Slovenia), and is supported by additional partners from the space and research sector. The curriculum combines advanced physiology, aerospace medicine, biomedical engineering, and extensive hands-on training across diverse extreme environments. The first student cohort commenced in October 2024.