The skies are getting busier – and AI is entering the control tower. DLR's LOKI project spent 4 years building AI systems pilots and air traffic controllers actually trust. The results? Human and digital controllers together handled up to 25% more traffic than current sector limits. 🛫

🚨When disaster strikes, coordinating emergency response isn’t simple. To change that, 16 DLR institutes are collaborating on RESITEK. Project member Konstanze Lechner gives insight into the test day in Ahrweiler – drones, autonomous vehicles & robotics, feeding a situational picture for responders.

📖 DLR’s heritage builds on its predecessor organisations, starting in 1907. The years to 1945 saw groundbreaking research marked by periods of war and injustice. Here, we summarise the background and objectives of our comprehensive historical study of this period.

A new era for European space security 🛰️ 🏗️👷‍♀️Construction has begun on the GOVSATCOM hub at DLR Cologne, where public authorities & emergency services will be able to communicate securely via satellite – even when terrestrial networks fail. 🛰️

ILA 2026 is a wrap! ✈️🚀 Five days of sharing research, discussing the future of aviation and space, and meeting people who are just as curious about what's next as we are. Thanks to everyone who stopped by DLR's exhibits in Berlin. Until next time! #ILABerlin #ILA2026 #aerospace #berlin #dlr

A coating designed to destroy. 🔥 Instead of protecting satellite components, this ultra-thin PVD coating helps them burn up more completely during atmospheric re-entry – reducing the risk of space debris reaching Earth. Developed and tested at DLR as part of ESA’s Zero Debris initiative.

A lucky coin for MODULARIS 🪙 This week DLR celebrated the keel-laying of its future 48m floating laboratory for maritime research in Flensburg.🥳 A lucky coin placed beneath a prefabricated steel module – the centuries-old start of something big. 🔩

Wings that shapeshift mid-flight? ✈️The answer is yes — thanks to HyTEM. DLR's morphAIR project is developing wings that change shape in real time. HyTEM creates a smooth, a flexible trailing edge that can bend at 10 different points along its length — reducing drag while enabling full control. 😎

100 days. One habitat. No resupply. 🚀 SOLIS100 (@esa.int × @dlr-en.bsky.social) simulates long-duration space missions at :envihab Cologne 🇩🇪. Isolation, confinement, and strict resource limits shape daily life and even food must be precisely planned. 📝

📅 100 days 👥 6 volunteers 🔒 1 sealed research facility What happens to us when we're cut off from the world? The SOLIS100 study has officially begun in Germany to study the effects of isolation on humans: www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

To celebrate #EarthDay, 🌍🌳 check out this spectacular view over the Pongara national park in Gabon. The image was taken last year by one of our specialised research aircraft, flying in tandem with the Biomass spacecraft from.

✈️ DLR's Falcon 20E flew behind a passenger aircraft & found that less soot doesn't mean fewer contrails. Tiny fuel & oil particles can form ice crystals too – meaning aviation's climate impact is bigger than we thought. The study, published in Nature, will help improve aviation's climate impact.

It's almost time! Wishing the crew a safe and swift landing! 🥳😃🚀

👨‍🚀 The #Artemis II crew are now further from home than any humans ever, and European engines brought them there 🚀. 🌍 The record of 400 171 km was previously held by the Apollo 13 mission 🌕.

More incredible imagery from the Artemis II mission! 🌍Watching this crew push the boundaries of human exploration is truly exciting 😃We can't wait to see more! 😊🚀

How do we protect astronauts from space radiation on the way to the Moon? 🌕Thomas Berger (DLR) breaks down one of the toughest challenges of leaving Earth: what does it take to stay safe in space? The question suddenly feels very real with Artemis II on the way to the Moon 🚀 #artemis2 #dlr #nasa

😃 What a remarkable result! ESA's Juice mission turned its instruments toward interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in November 2025 in a once-in-a-generation opportunity. 🛰️ Proud to play our part as scientists now dig into these extraordinary datasets. We can't wait to see more of this! 😍☄️

✅ New photos just in. See flic.kr/s/aHBqjCPE1j Coming up, in a few hours, a final burn performed by our European Service Module's main engine will send the crew on their way to the Moon! (Pics: ESA/S. Corvaja) @exploration.esa.int

And we are ready! 🛰️ Flying along for the ride is our improved M-42 EXT radiation sensor, which will help to better understand the radiation risks astronauts face on the way to the Moon. 🥳🔬 What an exciting week ahead! #artemis2

😎Breakthrough in propulsion research! 🚀 Europe’s first cryogenic rotating detonation engine (RDE) ran from gaseous oxygen to liquid at −183 °C, creating epic powerblasts and critical data. This is what the future of propulsion looks like! 💥 #propulsion #blast #rde #engineresearch

@esa.int's PLATO spacecraft is currently locked inside a giant vacuum chamber, being pushed to -80°C and +160°C to ensure it survives the extremes of space. Due out by end of March, then on to Ariane 6 in early 2027. 🛰️😎

🪐Mars Minutes is back! This time visiting the Trouvelot Crater – one of Mars’ oldest! What catches our eye is a bright central hill rich in clay & sulphur minerals formed by water. Remnants of an ancient crater lake? 🌅 Maybe. We don’t know yet – but what a sight. More Mars to come! 🥳

🌀 Every plane leaves invisible spinning vortices in its wake – and the aircraft behind it could fly right into them. They form whenever a plane generates lift, carrying enough energy to cause abrupt reactions in a following aircraft. 😎

🛰️ESA's CHEOPS detects distant planets by catching tiny dips in starlight - but that requires extraordinary precision. Thanks to DLR's thermal engineering, the detector stays stable to within 0.01 °C. Without that, accurate exoplanet measurements simply wouldn't be possible. 🔬🌍

In 2029, asteroid Apophis will fly safely by Earth. @esa.int & JAXA are sending RAMSES to study it with two CubeSats: Don Quijote, which will land on the asteroid, and Farinella. Why? Because asteroid impacts are the only natural disaster we could prevent. 🚀🌍[

🚁 DLR’s Smart Twisting Active Rotor (STAR) project is testing ‘smart’ rotor blades that twist using electric actuators and reduce noise by 7 dB – cutting vibrations and boosting efficiency. A big step for quieter, smoother, more efficient helicopters & future urban air mobility!

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