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The end of radio silence – wind tunnel tests simulate a new method for communicating with spacecraft

29 January 2016

Entering a planetary atmosphere is one of the most critical mission phases for a spacecraft. The enormous amount of heat generated not only places heavy thermal loads on the material of the re-entry vehicle, it also gives rise to an electrically charged plasma that flows around it. This blocks radio signals, with the result that the spacecraft is unable to communicate with its ground stations for several minutes. In a joint project, researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) are working with colleagues at Stanford University in California to find a solution to this problem.

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Six-kilometre-deep canyons in the 'Labyrinth of the Night'

28 January 2016

Directly to the west of the gigantic graben system of Valles Marineris on Mars, lies a no less impressive region called Noctis Labyrinthus – the Labyrinth of the Night. It consists of a labyrinth of intersecting valleys and canyons up to six kilometres deep. Extending over 1200 kilometres east to west, it is almost the same length as the River Rhine.

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Latest DLR Blog Updates

Philae Blog
Anniversary of Philae comet landing – expecting the unexpected

12. November 2015

<img align="right" alt="" src="http://www.dlr.de/blogs/en/ResourceImage.aspx?raid=342326">One year ago today, the Philae lander touched down on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This was no easy task, of course. With the Rosetta mission, it was demonstrated that it was not only possible to travel to a comet more than 500 million kilometres from Earth, but also to follow it in its orbit around the Sun and land on it.

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Energy Blog
Sunshine over the Kalahari

13. October 2015

<img align="right" alt="Die Sonne über der Kalahari" src="http://www.dlr.de/blogs/en/ResourceImage.aspx?raid=339979">The Sun almost always shines in the Kalahari, which extends across the Northern Cape region in South Africa. The area enjoys 4000 sunlight hours and an average solar irradiance of up to 2800 kilowatt-hours per square metre per year; by comparison, Spain reaches no more than 2300. Therefore, it follows that the currently untapped potential for solar power is immense.

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DLR sites

Air Hub Singapore invests in ATM technology from DLR

12 October 2015

The Air Traffic Management Institute (ATMRI) of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore was officially inaugurated on 20 August 2015. An air traffic simulation centre forms the core of the new institute.

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Plasma research – new laboratory on the ISS in operation

19 June 2015

The International Space Station (ISS) offers a unique opportunity to conduct research in microgravity. Its newest research system – the PK-4 plasma crystal laboratory – has now begun scientific operations in the Columbus module.

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