Collaboration with Poland in space research
- Deeper collaboration between Poland and Germany in the field of space.
- Bilateral meeting on Earth observation and exploration.
- Focus: Space, Earth observation, planetary research
On 12 and 13 December, Hansjörg Dittus, Executive Board Member for Space Research and Technology at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), together with the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), invited Polish space explorers to a bilateral workshop. During a three-day delegation trip to Poland at the end of April 2017, a follow-up workshop was arranged at the DLR site in Oberfaffenhofen with POLSA with the aim of intensifying cooperation on both sides and exploring concrete collaboration opportunities. DLR has a good and long-standing relationship with POLSA, as well as with various research institutions, particularly in the fields of planetary research and space operations.
"During our discussions, we focused on research questions from the areas of planetary research, space debris and Earth Observation," explained Dittus. "We discussed concrete collaboration options for river monitoring using radar data, as well as cooperation in the exploration of Mars, amongst other things."
Poland has a long tradition in spaceflight – including in the construction of scientific instruments. Amongst other things, this resulted from participation in the former Interkosmos programme. Interkosmos was a scientific programme founded after the launch of the first Sputnik in 1957 for the peaceful exploration of space using international funds.
"The aim of our visit is to promote collaboration between German and Polish researchers in the field of Earth observation, space research and space debris," reported Marek Moszyński, Vice-President of POLSA, who led the Polish delegation.
In addition to lectures and a guided tour, participants had the opportunity to exchange existing collaborative interests bilaterally and agree on the next steps.