What works on a small scale also works on a large scale. For the last several years, a helicopter-mounted measuring instrument developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has been hard at work detecting methane leaks from natural gas pipelines. From 2014, a space-borne version will be used on a German/French satellite orbiting Earth at an altitude of 650 kilometres. The climate mission Merlin (Methane Remote Sensing Lidar Mission) will track down the greenhouse gas methane around the globe.
Telerobots (remotely controlled robots) can be used not only in outer space but also in terrestrial environments that are hazardous for human beings, such as minefields or areas affected by nuclear radiation. Innovations derived from virtual reality telepresence and teleaction are also being employed in technology for medicine and production environments. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) leads the world with its research into the field known as 'multimodal telepresence'.
Orcus Patera is an enigmatic elliptical depression approximately 380 by 140 kilometres in size; it is located near the Martian equator, in the eastern hemisphere of the planet – between the volcanoes of Elysium Mons and Olympus Mons. How it was formed remains a mystery. The High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter acquired the images. The camera is operated by the German Aerospace Center.
Unlike its predecessor, the experimental sharp-edged spacecraft SHEFEX II (SHarp Edge Flight EXperiment) will be actively controlled during its re-entry into the atmosphere. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) has developed a custom aerodynamic flight control system for SHEFEX II, which will be used to control the craft as it returns to Earth.
In 1992, Klaus-Dietrich Flade became the fifth German to fly to space. His mission, Mir '92, lasted for seven days. Alongside scientific experiments, it also involved taking the mouse that starred in the German television programme 'Sendung mit der Maus' (Mouse TV) into space. Klaus-Dietrich Flade is now a test pilot for Airbus in Toulouse. In this interview he talks about his trip to space, his present job and his reasons for returning to flying.
On 10 August 2010, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) inaugurated its first satellite data receiving station in Inuvik, Canada. DLR will use the new ground station particularly to receive data for the German TanDEM-X satellite mission.
If an oil spill wasn't responsible for the formations in these TerraSAR-X images, they might seem like the work of an artist. The images were acquired over the Gulf of Mexico on 9 July 2010. For researchers, such imagery is key in forecasting the distribution of the oil slick.
Is it possible that there are salt solutions on Mars that remain liquid despite the extremely low temperatures – a class of fluids known as cryobrines? Research findings at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have shown that this is a theoretical possibility. Prof. Diedrich Möhlmann of the DLR Institute of Planetary Research presented these initial findings on Friday 23 July and Saturday 24 July 2010 at the international COSPAR (Committee on Space Research) 2010 conference in Bremen.
The first 3D images from the TanDEM-X satellite mission are now available. Just one month after the launch of TanDEM-X, which took place on 21 June 2010, DLR researchers have created the first digital elevation model – almost a week ahead of schedule. A group of Russian islands in the Arctic Ocean was selected for the first test.
This panoramic view of the Airbus A300 ZERO-G captures a moment of weightlessness on a parabolic flight. You can scroll across the image horizontally and vertically by holding down the mouse button or by using the arrow keys. The test equipment is secured to the aircraft cabin. A number of researchers are using floor-mounted lashings to prevent themselves from floating away from the equipment.
In Walt Disney's comic book "Donald Duck", Gyro Gearloose has a little helper - an electric bulb with two legs - always at his side to serve him. Although Alin Albu-Schäffer has yet to come up with a walking light bulb like that - a presence that is always close by, ready to accept instructions and to assist people - his research work is clearly guided by a similar vision. Albu-Schäffer is a Department Head at the Robotics and Mechatronics Center of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and is involved in the development of robots for use in space, industry and medicine.
The European Rosetta spacecraft has achieved a further milestone on its journey to the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. On 10 July 2010 at 17:45 CEST, the orbiter flew past asteroid Lutetia on its second and final pass of the asteroid belt at about 15 kilometres per second – 54,000 kilometres per hour – merely 3162 kilometres from the asteroid. The confirmation was delivered at 18:10 CEST to ESA's European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is participating in this unique mission.
The Rosetta orbiter, which carries the DLR lander Philae, has completed more than two thirds of its journey to the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The most comprehensive cometary investigation ever, the mission will deliver DLR's Philae lander to the comet’s surface for in situ studies. The spacecraft and lander are due to close in on 21 Lutetia, a large Main-Belt Asteroid on 10 July.
Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have received and analysed navigation signals transmitted from the first GPS ‘IIF’ satellite, using the 30-metre antenna at the German Space Operations Centre, GSOC, in Weilheim.
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