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The URLs of all DLR RSS newsfeeds have changed. You may find an overview of these news feeds here: http://www.dlr.de/rss_en. The RSS feed of the Top News is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DLR_top_en. Please update your bookmarks and feedreader settings.

GEMS – a mole to explore the interior of Mars

The final contenders in NASA’s Discovery programme, which invites scientists to propose unmanned planetary missions, have been announced. The Geophysical Monitoring Station (GEMS) for Mars mission proposal has made it to the final and decisive round of decision-making. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is significantly involved with a geophysical experiment aimed at investigating the interior of Mars. The aim of the mission, which may launch in early 2016, is to obtain our first ever impression of the 'interior life' of Mars through a series of direct measurements.

The southern hemisphere of Phobos, up close

During the last of a series of eight encounters with the martian moon Phobos, the DLR-operated High-Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft acquired a detailed view of the martian satellite. The orbiter flew past Phobos at a distance of only 100 kilometres on 9 January 2011 and imaged the southern hemisphere of the irregularly-shaped moon. Researchers at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) planned the image acquisition and processed the resulting data.

Scanning the Red Planet

Like a scanner in orbit, the High Resolution Stereo Camera on the European Mars Express spacecraft has been imaging the surface of the Red Planet since 10 January 2004, spotting volcanoes, trenches, wrinkle ridges and impact craters. But before we can view the surface of Mars in 3D, the photos have to be sequenced, the data has to be checked, and only then can viewable imagery be generated. This is something that the researchers at the DLR Institute of Planetary Research and the Free University of Berlin have been doing for the last seven years.

Wind and water have shaped Schiaparelli on Mars

The small crater embedded in the north-western rim of the Schiaparelli impact basin features prominently in this new image acquired by the DLR-operated High-Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft. All around is evidence of water in the past and the strong Martian winds that blow periodically.

Light and dark in the Phoenix lake

They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but with planets, first impressions do count. New images from the DLR-operated High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft show where complex fault lines in the Red Planet’s Phoenicis Lacus region have resulted in terrain with a distinctly contrasting appearance.

Melas Chasma on Mars: as low as one can go

There are few places on Mars lower than this. The floor of Melas Chasma sinks nine kilometres below the surrounding plateau. New images from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) operated High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA's Mars Express orbiter highlight the complex history of this enormous martian canyon.

Orcus Patera - Mars's mysterious elongated crater

Orcus Patera is an enigmatic elliptical depression approximately 380 by 140 kilometres in size; it is located near the Martian equator, in the eastern hemisphere of the planet – between the volcanoes of Elysium Mons and Olympus Mons. How it was formed remains a mystery. The High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter acquired the images. The camera is operated by the German Aerospace Center.

DLR investigates the existence of liquid salt solutions on Mars

Is it possible that there are salt solutions on Mars that remain liquid despite the extremely low temperatures – a class of fluids known as cryobrines? Research findings at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have shown that this is a theoretical possibility. Prof. Diedrich Möhlmann of the DLR Institute of Planetary Research presented these initial findings on Friday 23 July and Saturday 24 July 2010 at the international COSPAR (Committee on Space Research) 2010 conference in Bremen.

Seven years of Mars Express – unusual structures at Magellan Crater

In the southwest of the Tharsis volcanic region on Mars is the large impact crater Magellan, named after the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. The High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), carried by ESA's Mars Express orbiter and operated by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), acquired images of unusual structures on the southern edge of the crater. The process by which these structures developed is not fully understood.

Volcanic ash in Meridiani Planum

Deposits of volcanic ash colour this view of Meridiani Planum, captured by the German Aerospace Center-operated High-Resolution Stereo Camera on the Mars Express orbiter. The images provide clues on the prevailing wind direction in this region of Mars.

Phobos flyby images

Images from the recent flyby of Phobos, taken on 7 March 2010 by the German Aerospace Center-operated High Resolution Stereo Camera, are being released today. The images show Mars’s rocky moon in exquisite detail, with a resolution of 4.4 metres per pixel, including the proposed landing sites for the forthcoming Phobos-Grunt mission.

Craters young and old in Sirenum Fossae

The German Aerospace Center (DLR)-operated High Resolution Stereo Camera on board the Mars Express orbiter has imaged craters, both young and old, in this view of the Southern Highlands of Mars.

DLR Mars Exhibition in Kobe, Japan

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) Mars Exhibition will be hosted from 17 December 2009 to 31 January 2010 by the Kobe Science Museum. It shows fascinating high-resolution, large-format 3D images of Mars, taken by the German High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board the European orbiter, Mars Express. These are supplemented by a vast amount of information about the Red Planet, its moons and exploration efforts.