Think big
While others are still mulling over their New Year’s resolutions, we’re busy thinking about the universe. This is a day-to-day task here in Adlershof, to be sure. We are not driven by megalomania but by curiosity—dedicated to the search for answers to unresolved questions. Why is the world the way we know it to be? Could life exist on other planets? There are still countless mysteries out there: billions of galaxies, stars, and planets—simply an abundance of the unknown.
For millennia, humans have looked to the sky, exploring the origins of the cosmos and expanding their understanding of the world. Adlershof is a magnet for the particularly inquisitive. In this January issue, we showcase examples from both past and present, while also remembering visionary pilot Melli Beese, whose 100th death anniversary fell in December 2025. The Johannisthal Airfield that she once helped shape—a symbol for science and technology—still stands as the birthplace of powered flight in Germany and the Adlershof Technology Park.
From the present, particle physicist Heiko Lacker is looking back all the way to the Big Bang, hoping to discover previously unknown elementary particles. What sounds like science fiction now could be tomorrow’s research reality. And because we don’t simply speculate about distant—possibly habitable—worlds but focus on verifiable data, a camera and laser system from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is mapping Jupiter’s icy moons as part of ESA’s JUICE mission. Patience is required as we look forward to the news in 2031.
Sound, too, travels through space and time: I bet you’ve never heard of the Subharchord. This visionary instrument, developed in Adlershof in the 1950s, is set to have a new life in the future.
Here’s to a new year full of discoveries.
Sincerely,
Peggy Mory
Editor-in-chief
Articles
From Adlershof into the depths of the solar system
Perpective by Ulrich Köhler, planetary geologist at the DLR Institute of Space Research:
This announcement in November 2025 sent a thrill through many people in this country: Europe would soon be sending three astronauts to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis programme—among them, for the first time, a…
In conversation with Ulrich Unger
The former airline pilot is committed to preserving the heritage of German aviation history:
His enthusiasm for the early beginnings of the “flying machines” and for the life’s work of Germany’s first female pilot, Amelie (Melli) Hedwig Boutard-Beese, is infectious. Ulrich Unger is a retired airline captain…
The mentor
Tabea Tauscher experiments with young people at DLR_School_Lab Berlin:
She was seven years old when, in 2014, German geophysicist Alexander Gerst returned to Earth after a six-month stint aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Tabea Tauscher was in the process of “inhaling” Die…
A proving ground for pioneers
Researchers and developers at the Adlershof Technology Park are still making history in the aviation and aerospace sector:
The aviation pioneer Melli Beese died a century ago. In the very place that she once helped shape, researchers and developers are still making history in the aviation and aerospace sector—with excellent technologies…
Just after the Big Bang
Heiko Lacker is searching for previously unknown elementary particles:
The very substance that makes up the universe still holds many mysteries. Heiko Lacker, professor of experimental particle physics at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, explores the microcosm of matter and antimatter…
Worlds made of ice
How cameras and lasers map Jupiter’s moons:
Far out in the solar system, some 700 million kilometres from Earth, the gas giant Jupiter reigns over an entire army of moons. These are worlds of ice, scarred by kilometre-long cracks and chasms, pockmarked with…
Passive air conditioning
Nanolope is developing a panel-shaped thermal energy storage system that can be mounted on walls or ceilings:
The specialised material used in the thermal energy storage system developed by Nanolope regulates temperature as it melts and solidifies, it is designed to noticeably reduce heating costs. The International Space…
Saving the best for last
Adlershof recently gained a small but lovely lunch and deli spot:
We are talking about Johann P., the newest venture of Mona Heyfelder, Guido Mußmann, and Steffen Marx. Named after Heyfelder’s wine-loving grandfather, Johann P. combines years of experience in hospitality as well as…
Sounds from another dimension
How the Subharchord lives on:
Gerhard Steinke co-developed the Subharchord, one of East Germany’s most enigmatic instruments. Steinke passed away on 26 May 2025, but his work lives on. “Music and sound only come into being through listening. When…
Visitors’ day: Jugend forscht regional competition Berlin South
Jugend forscht is the best-known science competition for children and teenagers from grade 4 to age 21, who research, invent, and experiment in seven scientific and technical categories. WISTA Management GmbH, the operating company of Adlershof Technology Park, has been the sponsoring company for the competition round for Berlin South, one of the four Berlin-based regional competitions, since 2011. On 26 February, anyone interested in meeting this year’s young contestants and their projects is welcome to come to Bunsen Hall, Volmerstraße 2, between 10 am and 12.30 pm.
Special hotel rates for companies 2026
Like in previous years, WISTA offers exclusive special hotel rates for the customers of companies based in Adlershof Technology Park. Go to www.adlershof.de/en/event-services-guided-tours-hotels to see a list of all participating hotels and apartments in the surrounding area and wider southwest Berlin. Write an email to pr(at)wista.de to receive the corresponding booking codes.
Best of “Adlershof Journal”
