DLR in Bonn is the headquarters of the German Space Agency. It is responsible for managing national space activities on behalf of the federal government. Furthermore, several offices of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) are located here.
Temperatures alternating between extreme heat and cold, electromagnetic radiation and weightlessness – environmental conditions prevailing in space are harsh. Nevertheless, satellite components and those of the International Space Station ISS and other systems must withstand these conditions and continue to function reliably. Within the national "On-Orbit-Verification"-(OOV)-Programme- the Deutsche Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) is testing the maturity of space technologies under real condtitions in their intended space environment. The core element of this programme is the small satellite TET-1 built by the prime contractor Kayser-Threde GmbH of Munich.
Poland is the official partner country of the ILA Berlin Air Show 2012, and is in the process of becoming the twentieth member state of the European Space Agency (ESA).
Valles Marineris, the largest canyon system in the Solar System and a potential refuge for extraterrestrial life, is 7000 metres deep and stretches for some 4000 kilometres along the Martian equator.