News
Satellites for technological sovereignty: German Chancellor Merz and Berlin's Governing Mayor Wegner visited Adlershof-based company BST
Leading manufacturer of small satellites exemplifies Berlin's innovative strength:
During his inaugural visit to Berlin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner visited BST Berlin Space Technologies at the Adlershof Technology Park to learn about the construction of…
Behind the scenes at ESA
Public evening lecture highlights PTB's contribution to the ESA NewAthena mission:
On December 3, 2025, Frédéric Safa and Marcos Bavdaz from the European Space Agency (ESA) will give a public lecture presenting the scientific objectives and technical implementation of the NewAthena mission. This…
Mars in 3D
Using a special camera developed in Adlershof, planetary geologist Daniela Tirsch and her team are mapping planet Mars:
For more than 20 years, the Mars Express probe of the European Space Agency (ESA) has been studying the surface and atmosphere of Mars. On board is Germany’s most significant contribution to the mission: the High…
Winds blow across Mars at speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour
New study with DLR participation helps to improve our understanding of the Martian atmospheric dynamics:
On Mars, ‘dust devils’ and winds reach speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour – stronger than previously thought. This is demonstrated by a new study from an international research team led by the University of…
How supermarket parking lots help the energy supply in Berlin
Research project shows innovative solutions for electromobility:
Supermarket parking lots can help reduce the need for expansion of charging infrastructure in public spaces in Berlin by up to 17 percent. In the Retail4Multi-Use project, scientists from the Reiner Lemoine Institute…
DLR reveals ways to overcome transport poverty
Institute of Transport Research is investigating developments in transport poverty in Hesse:
Achieving climate goals and avoiding transport poverty at the same time—a challenging task for policymakers. A study by the DLR Institute of Transport Research, commissioned by the Hessian Scientific Climate Council,…
DLR researchers publish open-source tool for assessing urban transport connections
Improved access to public transport is one of the United Nations’ sustainable urban development goals:
The United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. These goals are to be implemented globally in order to promote sustainable peace, prosperity and protection of our planet by 2030. One of…
Up to 26,000 electric trucks in Berlin by 2045
Study by Reiner Lemoine Institute and Öko-Institut shows how the electrification of road freight transport can be achieved:
By 2045, up to 26,000 electric trucks with a total electricity demand of up to 430 GWh per year could be registered in Berlin – this corresponds to the annual consumption of around 100,000 households and requires a…
DLR pools expertise in space research
The new DLR Institute of Space Research is being formed from the internationally acclaimed Institutes of Optical Sensor Systems and Planetary Research:
Space is a key technology for the future, essential for exploring planets, Earth observation and security. Satellites and space probes equipped with highly specialised observation instruments are indispensable for all…
Please mind the gap
Three DLR researchers highlight gender-specific knowledge gaps that prevent the surveying of women’s needs in cars, busses, and trains:
Globally, Germany ranks in the top ten percent for gender equality—but persistent gaps remain. The gender pay gap is the most well-known example. The fact that transport systems are still largely designed by and for…
Hera space probe photographs Mars during flyby
The ESA mission is on its way to the Didymos asteroid system:
On 12 March 2025, the European Space Agency (ESA) Hera space probe conducted a flyby of Mars. This event marks a significant milestone on Hera's journey to the Didymos asteroid system, where researchers aim to gain…
Determine bike friendliness with ‘Bikeability’
DLR transport researchers publish tool for comparing bike friendliness:
Cycling is an integral part of the transport transition, thus research into the willingness to use the bicycle as a means of transport is increasingly coming into focus. While many studies include the concept of…
Mars’ northern ice cap is young
Geophysical investigations reveal surprising results:
To understand the properties of the rocky mantle beneath Earth's continents, researchers use a little geophysical trick: they measure how fast large areas of land, once covered by kilometres of ice during the last ice…
Berlin instrument flies to the Moon with IM-2 mission
New lunar mission to demonstrate search for water ice at Moon's south pole:
In the early hours of 27 February 2025, at 00:30 Central European Time, the IM-2 mission launches, carrying the Athena lander from the US New Space company Intuitive Machines on its second mission to the Moon. On…
How heat and cold affect Mercury
Recent research findings from the smallest planet in the Solar System:
Mercury is the smallest of the eight planets in the Solar System, the closest to the Sun, and unusually, it has no atmosphere. Together, these factors make it a unique case in planetary research. The German Aerospace…
Planet Mercury seen ‘in a different light’ for first time
Fifth flyby of Mercury by BepiColombo space probe:
Mercury is the innermost and smallest of the eight planets. Outwardly, it bears a strong resemblance to Earth's Moon, but the planet differs considerably from it in terms of its structure and composition. Planetary…
Explanation found for encrusting of the Martian soil
Temperature measurements of the HP³ Mars mole have provided new insights:
Mole, the Martian mole: for four years it had a small but highly regarded 'career' in planetary research. The experiment, unprecedented in the field, was named after the recognisable tunnel-digging mammal, but its…
JUICE space probe to fly by the Moon and Earth
With the close flybys the space probe's trajectory will be changed, setting it on the ideal course to Venus:
The highly anticipated space manoeuvre has been named LEGA, for 'Lunar-Earth Gravity Assist' – which roughly means Moon-Earth gravity deflection. For the first time, the orbit of a space probe will be altered by the…
DLR laser clock achieves world-class accuracy
Laser clocks are set to improve satellite navigation and deliver a precise global time signal:
A new laser clock from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has achieved a record level of accuracy for optical clocks with gas cells: in 30 million years, it would be off by…
How Earth got its water
Distant asteroids thought to have brought large amounts of water to Earth:
Although water is essential for the existence of life on Earth, its presence on our planet was by no means a foregone conclusion. Millions of asteroid fragments from regions of the Solar System far from the Sun are…