Microwaves and Radar Institute

Microwaves and Radar Institute

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Alberto Moreira
Director of the Institute, Wessling

Microwaves and Radar Institute

The Institute contributes with its know-how and expertise in passive and active microwaves to the development and advancement of ground-based, airborne and spaceborne sensors. It concentrates its research work on the concept and development of new microwave techniques and systems, as well as sensor-specific applications. The Institute‘s strength is the execution of long-term research programmes with applications in remote sensing, aeronautics, traffic monitoring and last but not least reconnaissance and security.

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News

TerraSAR-X image of the month – A game of mirrors

11 March 2013
2153 mirrors twist and turn at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) Experimental Solar Thermal Power Plant in Jülich, directing sunlight onto a 22-square-metre receiver. TerraSAR-X, the German radar satellite operated by DLR, can also detect the mirrors as they follow the Sun – from more than 500 kilometres above Earth. The reflections of the radar signals make the tower and mirror array appear as bright spots of light.

Next TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X Science Team Meetings: June 10-14, 2013 at DLR in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

08 January 2013
The main goals of the two meetings are the provision of information to the mission status, your presentation of the first results obtained with TanDEM-X science data and the exchange of experiences with other researchers. Interested scientists are kindly invited to present their research results in an oral or poster presentation. Please note that a separate registration for TanDEM-X and TerraSAR-X sessions is required. The TerraSAR-X sessions will be on June 10 -11, the TanDEM-X sessions will be on June 12-14. A common session on Wednesday (June 12) morning.

The online services for registration and abstract submission will be open from February 15, 2013 on our webpages:
TanDEM-X: https://tandemx-science.dlr.de (June 12-14, 2012)
TerraSAR-X: http://sss.terrasar-x.dlr.de/ (June 10 -11, 2012)

Please notice the following deadlines for both meetings:
Registration: from February 15th, 2013 until April 30th, 2013
Abstract submission: from February 15th, 2013 until April 15th, 2013

TerraSAR-X image of the month – the coastal cliffs of Christmas Island

07 January 2013
Captain William Mynors was not particularly creative as he sailed past a remote island in the Indian Ocean on the 'Royal Mary', a ship belonging to the British East India Company, on 25 December 1643. He named the 135-square-kilometre island, which he could not even disembark on, 'Christmas Island'. In the image acquired with the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) TerraSAR-X radar satellite, one thing is clear – even today, tropical rainforest proliferates on the island and the coastal cliffs continue to make life difficult for mariners.

TerraSAR-X image of the month – the Santorini volcano expands

23 November 2012
Glasses are rattling on the shelves and the ground is rumbling – since January 2011 the earth under the Santorini volcano has been stirring. Most of the time, it is barely noticeable, but every now and then the inhabitants notice small tremors jolting the volcanic archipelago. Nearly circular, and seemingly carved from stone, the submerged caldera is located in the Aegean Sea. "It was clear to the local people that something was happening with the volcano – but it wasn't until we saw, among other things, the images from the TerraSAR-X radar satellite that we realised that molten rock was pooling beneath the volcano," says British scientist Juliet Biggs from the University of Bristol. Images acquired by the German Aerospace Center's (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) satellite show the entire archipelago not just rising, but also expanding.

Final Spurt towards Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2012

19 November 2012
On 28 November 2012, the German President Joachim Gauck will announce the winner of the Federal Award for Technology and Innovation (Deutscher Zukunftspreis 2012) in Berlin. Four teams are nominated for this high-ranking recognition. In this video, you may watch the official introduction of our nominated project, called „Radar Eyes in Space“. Click here (available only in German)

News Archive

Departments of the Institute

SAR Technology

The department of SAR Technology in engaged in the development of methods and techniques for airborne multimodal SAR systems...

Radar Concepts

The department Radar Concepts develops and analyzes innovative techniques for future radar remote sensing systems and applications.

Satellite SAR Systems

The main objective of the Satellite SAR Systems department is the research and development of spaceborne SAR systems. These systems are used for the acquisition of multifrequency, multi-polarisation and interferometric radar data to process high resolution radar images...

Reconnaissance and Security

The department of Reconnaissance and Security works on topics of remote sensing and reconnaissance...


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TerraSAR-X Picture Gallery


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E-SAR and F-SAR Picture Gallery


Compact Test Range

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Science Meetings


HR Institute Seminar

Scientific Colloquium DLR Oberpfaffenhofen

HR-Brochure (2.36 MB)

Institute's History: A Retrospective 1908 - 2008, (33.59 MB)

Status Report 2000 - 2005 (11.12 MB)

Recent Research and Projects (3.09 MB)

TerraSAR-X Brochure (9.06 MB)

TanDEM-X Brochure (8.05 MB)

Tandem-L Brochure - in German (2.98 MB)