HALO is flying again today! 🥳 You can track it live on flightradar 🤓🌍

ESA's Plato spacecraft gets shaken to its core! 🚀 These vibration tests simulate the extreme forces during lift-off – one of many checks to ensure a successful journey to space. 📹: @esa.int #plato #shakeit #vibecheck #dlr

🌍 Winter storms in Europe are hard to predict because key processes start high over the North Atlantic. 💨 Dry air intrusions can worsen many storms as they travel from North America to Europe. ✈️ HALO is now stationed in Ireland to take measurements across the Atlantic, improving weather models.

Good News! The deadline has been moved to the 23rd of February! 🥳🤩 Use the link below to send your #GoodLuckMMX wishes 👇

Your reminder to send your #GoodLuckMMX wishes to Idefix, the DLR/CNES rover, before the 18th of January (this Sunday)! And don’t forget to collect your boarding certificate! 🥳 You can find the form at the bottom of JAXA’s website: goodluck-mmx.jp/en/

If you want to send a message with the Martian Moons eXploration (#MMX) spacecraft 🛰️ when it launches for Phobos this year (and receive a cool boarding certificate!), you now have until February 23 to get your message to us! 🔭🧪

Did Mars scrape its knee? 🔴 Not quite. These ‘yardangs’ are elongated ridges carved by wind into rock over millions of years. Mars' thin atmosphere (less than 1% of Earth's pressure) still packs enough punch to sandblast the surface – even areas like these, which are almost the size of Belgium! 💨

Small satellites: tiny, affordable and flexible 🚀 They can monitor wildfires, map ocean waves in 3D and countless else 🌍 Discover how they’re changing space research and why future smallsats might even be wood based, in the latest edition of the DLRmagazine! www.dlr.de/en/media/pub... #DLR #smallsat

What a year. ✨ 2025 was packed with projects, collaborations, and milestones we’re proud of. Thank you to everyone who made it possible - we can’t wait to see what the next year has in store! 🎉😀 #2026 here we come!

🚀 For the New Year, share your #GoodLuckMMX wishes to JAXA Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission and the [email protected] Idefix rover – and they’ll fly on a memory card inside the return capsule on the 2026 mission to Phobos – the Martian moon named after fear itself.🌌

Ever wondered how much carbon our forests store? DLR’s Dornier DO 228-212 aircraft recently flew in sync with ESA’s Biomass satellite over Gabon’s rainforest. They calibrated the satellite’s radar so that it can precisely determine the biomass (total mass of living material) hidden in our forests.

Summer 2026 is sorted!🎉😎 Join the International Space Weather Camp hosted by the University of Alabama (US) and @dlr-de.bsky.social and explore space weather hands-on: work in small teams on projects from numerical data analysis to building satellite receivers. 🔬🔩

🚀 Last month, Germany committed €5.4 billion for the future of Europe in space at ESA’s Ministerial Council. This represents 23% of ESA’s €22 billion budget and will support a wide range of important research and science projects 🔧. @esa.int #esa #futureofeuropeanspace

We are celebrating 15 years of our TanDEM-X mission! 🥳🎉 For over a decade, the satellites TanDEM-X and TerraSAR-X have collected valuable data to create 3D models of Earth’s surface 🗺️ (Digital Elevation Models) used by scientists worldwide to track glaciers , monitor forests , map cities, and more.

🚁 DLR has a drone test centre that is unique in Europe in Cochstedt (DE) – and is operating right next to an active airport. Thanks to a new permanent GeoZone, larger drones and more complex flights can now be tested without long approval processes. A big step towards safer, real-world drone tech!

2025 was a landmark year for Europe in space 🚀 From celebrating 50 years of ESA to new missions and scientific breakthroughs, the year reaffirmed Europe’s leadership in science, exploration, climate action and innovation. 🎥 Watch our highlights video: youtu.be/obJbRWZ8f1Y?...

HAP-alpha just wrapped a successful ground test! 🚀 Our solar-powered aircraft took a test roll across the airfield while we checked flight preparation procedures and tested aircraft systems. Next stop: final fine-tuning and, eventually, its first real take-off in 2026 – low-altitude flight tests!🌍✨

This month we’re flying over Idaeus Fossae on Mars: home to the 1500 m deep ‘Butterfly crater’ 🦋and table mountains – or mesas - towering 1000 m high ⛰️ 📸HRSC data lets us turn these views into detailed terrain models – and uncover Mars’ geological history 🗺️ #HRSC #Mars #Astronomy #butterflycrater

🚀 Could you spend 100 days in isolation? Starting April 2026, @esa.int's SOLIS100 study at @dlr-en.bsky.social's :envihab in Cologne 🇩🇪 will simulate life on the Moon or Mars to learn how humans adapt and keep future crews healthy far from Earth. Learn more 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

Coming Soon: DLR Design Challenge 2026! The DLR Design Challenge 2026 is your chance to design the experimental aircraft of tomorrow! Explore future aviation tech, compete with top students, gain expert feedback, earn recognition, and present on major aerospace stages. ✈️ #DLRDesignChallenge #DLR

The ministers responsible for space in ESA's Member States, Associate Members and Cooperating States at the Ministerial Council #CM25 in Bremen, Germany, November 2025.

💨Did you know contrails impact the climate as much as all aviation CO₂? ✈️The EU-funded #A4CLIMATE project is tackling this challenge with real-time contrail measurements, smart flight paths, new engine technologies and alternative fuels – paving the way for smart, clean and competitive aviation.🌍

Space adventurers Bepi, Mio and MTM have just one year to go until they reach Mercury. What have they been up to since their journey began in 2018? Watch episode 2 of 'The epic adventures of BepiColombo' here 👉 youtu.be/41EdqhlH3PQ 👀 🔭 #planetsci #BepiColombo

📺 Our Ministerial Council takes place this week, 26-27 November, in Bremen, Germany. Vital decisions will be made on Europe's future in space. You can follow events live on the days here! 👇 www.esa.int/About_Us/Min... Also check out our dedicated #CM25 website 👇 🔗 esa.int/CM25

🌕 On the hunt for Moon water! 💧 Researchers have tested innovative methods to detect water on the Moon as part of the Polar Explorer campaign. Using rovers, lasers, and radar📡, they successfully mapped water ice deposits hidden on and under the surface of our 700 m2 LUNA analogue hall. 🧊

DLR is back at Space Tech Expo 2025! 🚀 From rocket technologies to Earth observation – join us from November 18–20 at the 10th edition of Space Tech Expo in Bremen. 🇩🇪 As one of the largest exhibitors, we’re showcasing cutting-edge innovations you don’t want to miss.

Mission confirmed ✅ #CopernicusEU Sentinel-6B is now in orbit and ready to begin its Launch & Early Operations phase with @operations.esa.int. The satellite is ready to continue a decades-long mission to track the height of the planet’s seas – a key measure of climate change.

Martian ice age: Tectonic drift 🧊❄️ New #HRSC images from @esa.int's #MarsExpress reveal Coloe Fossae – trenches carved by glaciers and tectonic shifts during a long past Martian ice age. A window into Mars’s climate history… Just don’t expect cynical mammoths or goofy sloths strolling by! 🦣🦥

A successful launch for MAPHEUS-16! 🚀 Launched from SSC’s Esrange site early this morning, this sounding rocket carried 21 science experiments – from 3D printing to organoids – into microgravity, advancing materials science, tech and medical research for both space and Earth. 🌌🌍

🏠🌕 To live on the Moon or Mars, we would need technologies that can use local resources to create materials essential for our survival. The University of Bremen explored if the unique conditions of space itself could help us with this 👉 www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...

🛰️Sentinel-1D satellite successfully launched! 🚀 Together with its companion satellite Sentinel-1C (launched in 2024), 1D will capture Earth’s surface in its entirety every 6 days! A major step for Earth observation.🌍 ℹ️ www.dlr.de/en/latest/ne...

🚀 #WatchLive: Tonight we have the launch of the #Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite on Ariane 6 flight #VA265. Tune in from 20:35 GMT/21:35 CET on #ESAwebTV2 to watch live. 📺 watch.esa.int More details👇 @cnes.fr @euspa.bsky.social @ec.europa.eu @thalesaleniaspace.bsky.social @transport.esa.int

Launch Readiness Review concludes: we are ready! 🛰️Earth observer Copernicus Sentinel-1D is on its #Ariane6 rocket and set for launch. ☁️ Weather conditions favourable. 🚀 Liftoff at 21:03 GMT/22:03 CET ▶️ Watch live: www.esa.int/Applications...

🌕 From Moon dust to mission essentials! At the #LUNA hall, 8 teams competed in the @esa.int Space Resources Challenge 2025. Team BREMEN (DLR + DFKI) showed off with the Coyote III rover🤖 & a Moon dust processor 🏗️– paving the way for long-term missions to the Moon! 🌙

✈️ Science in free-fall! @dlr-spaceagency.bsky.social's 45th parabolic flight campaign lifts off from 🇫🇷! Eleven German experiments explore microgravity aboard the ZERO-G Airbus—from hydrogen bubbles to liquid metal spacecraft tech. 🔬 35 mins of weightlessness, without even going to space!🌍

The 45th parabolic flight campaign of @dlr-en.bsky.social & Novespace is starting! Our @uni-magdeburg.de are there! Aboard is the CIRCULATION 1 experiment to test the functionality of the our #EUfunded magneto-acoustic bioprinter under microgravity conditions! 🧲 🔊 💗 Photos by Katrin Maria S

🌕 Robots on the Moon — almost! Eight teams from 🇨🇦 🇩🇰 🇩🇪 🇱🇺 🇵🇱 🇬🇧 tested robotic systems to dig and sort simulated Moon soil at the @esa.int - @dlr-en.bsky.social LUNA facility in Cologne, Germany. ✨ The goal? Tech for sustainable lunar living. 🔗 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

🚀Ariane 6 Vinci engine – now made in Germany! 🇩🇪 Following a joint agreement by ArianeGroup and DLR, ArianeGroup Germany will take over final assembly and testing of the Vinci engine — the powerhouse behind Ariane 6’s upper stage!

🚁 New drone test facility unveiled! As part of the #Flybots initiative, a collaboration with @tu-braunschweig.de, we have constructed a drone cage ⛓️ – a place where unmanned aerial systems can be tested in a safe environment, with no chance of them flying off 🪰

📡✈️ Quantum communication takes off! As part of the QuNET initiative, researchers from DLR and partners have successfully measured quantum channels between a DLR research aircraft and a ground station — a major milestone in quantum-secure communication. 📢

👣 One small step… 🌙 Matthias Maurer steps into the future at LUNA, Europe's Moon on Earth 🌍 This @esa.int/@dlr-en.bsky.social lunar surface analogue facility is helping scientists, engineers and astronauts better prepare for our return to the Moon youtu.be/CLWkrOFH5mQ

Ram 🐐, Confuse 🌀, Trap 🔒– that’s how we take out unwanted drones! In the CUSTODIAN project, we're combining expertise from all corners of DLR to detect, assess & neutralise rogue drones. The threat of drones in 🇩🇪 & beyond is on the rise, and we're ready to counter it. 💪

Dust devils dancing on Mars! 🌪️ Over 1000 of these speedy whirlwinds were tracked by scientists from Univ. of Bern and DLR using deep learning and 20 years of data from the #HRSC & #CaSSIS instruments. They provide a great insight into the weather, climate & surface conditions of Mars. 🔴🧪

PLATO’s epic journey from Germany 🇩🇪 to @esa.int’s ESTEC! 🚛 🏗️ 🚢 Too big for standard transport, the PLATO space telescope travelled 900km by country road and giant ship. Now at ESTEC, it’s gearing up for testing – including in Europe’s largest vacuum chamber – to prep for its mission to space! 🌌🔭

🌎 🛰️ Check out the first data from the METimage instrument on board EUMETSAT's MetOp-SG-A1 satellite! This advanced instrument observes clouds, land, sea and ice, providing key insights into weather forecasting, nowcasting, and climate monitoring. eumetsat.int/metimage-del... 📸 @eumetsat.int

💛 Explore Mars’ golden-yellow highlands! This month, our #HRSC 📸 aboard @esa.int’s #MarsExpress takes us on a stunning flight over Xanthe Terra – from the deep Shalbatana Vallis to the rugged Hydraotes Chaos, revealing Mars in all its golden-yellow glory. 🔴✨ 📽️: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin

🆕 The discovery of new complex organic molecules at Saturn's #Enceladus enhances the likelihood that the moon is habitable 🪐 On Earth, these molecules are involved in chemical reaction chains that lead to the more complex molecules essential for life. Read more 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... 🔭 🧪 ☄️

DLR is going hypersonic! 🚀 For 170 seconds our ATHEAt experimental flight will soar at 50 km altitude – reaching speeds between Mach 8 & 10 (around 12,000km/h!). Launching from Norway this autumn, ATHEAt will give us insights into the forces 💥 affecting hypersonic craft at low altitudes.

🚁 Every second counts in emergencies!🚨 With our #ADELE drone, responders get live images even before arriving – boosting speed, coordination & saving lives. 🤝Partnered with Vodafone & Frequentis, we just completed a successful test with Rostock Fire Brigade. The future is looking up!📡

📍🌕 Landing a spacecraft on the Moon with pinpoint precision while relying on ground-based tracking systems is complex and costly. A recent PhD project, co-funded by @esa.int, @dlr-en.bsky.social and OHB explored how we could teach spacecraft to find their own way 🧭🛰️ 👉 www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...