53. Highlights of Human Spaceflight in Europe: ESA and DLR

In this chapter, highlights of human spaceflight are summarized achieved in the frame of the microgravity programs funded by the European Space Agency ESA and/or the German Space Agency DLR. After describing the historical context, thereby stressing the importance of cooperation with the USA and the Soviet Union/Russia especially in the ISS era, specific programmatic aspects in Europe are briefly explained. The major part of the chapter provides examples for scientific accomplishments and discoveries in space biology and medicine obtained over the last decades focusing on a completely new view on hypertension established by space and accompanying ground-based research. The last part of the chapter describes important technological developments in the area of noninvasive medical diagnostics, therapy, and rehabilitation. Impressive examples demonstrate the successful transfer of devices and methods developed for space life sciences into the commercial market for the benefit of people on Earth especially in the aging society.