Eminent achievements in science and technology increasingly determine the economic, political and cultural importance of a country. They play a crucial part in attracting top scientists and industrial investments to a particular location. Acting on a mandate from the Federal Government, the DLR Space Administration promotes these objectives under the German Space Program. Thanks to its excellent engineers and scientists, Germany was able to implement more than 100 space missions both nationally and within the framework of international cooperation.
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest technology project of all time. The European Columbus module is the newest section of the Space Station. Even with Columbus attached, the ISS is still not finished. Follow its development and see our interactive animation of the construction of the ISS.
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is involved in important national and international missions, exploitation and exploration of outer space and research on the effect of weightlessness on life. Our mission pages provide an overview of the main areas of focus and highlights.
New images from the HRSC camera on board the Mars Express spacecraft show numerous dried up river valleys and various former crater lakes in the Acidalia Planitia region. They are further evidence of the existence of water on the surface of Mars for an extended period of time. Such areas are of particular interest to the search for microbial life, which may have developed here under these circumstances.
In the Tharsis volcanic region, almost the size of Europe, the Martian highlands have arched up into a shield several thousand metres in height as a consequence of volcanic processes. Quite a few unusual topographic features can be observed there.