The purpose of the association is the idealistic and financial promotion of science and research at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) and the support of the AIP in its activities for the continuation and development of astrophysical research in the Potsdam/Brandenburg region. The association is committed to the preservation and maintenance of the AIP's listed astronomical cultural assets and scientific-historically significant measuring instruments and apparatus.

The aims of the association therefore include:

• the promotion of scientific exchange and the popularisation of astrophysics;
• the support of research at the AIP;
• the promotion of the training of young scientists at the AIP;
• the protection and preservation of historical monuments. This is realised through the care of the recognised architectural and technical monuments and instruments at the AIP's sites on Babelsberg and Telegrafenberg, with particular importance attached to the Einstein Tower and the Great Refractor.