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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

🌔 For long-stay Moon missions, astronauts will need more than food-in-a-tube… so maybe they can grow fresh vegetables? 🥦🍅 DLR is working with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency to start planning for a space greenhouse demonstrator to grow 'space plants'. Learn more: www.dlr.de/en/latest/ne...

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Idefix is a demonstration of the power of teamwork – within DLR and with our friends around the world 🤝 Its job within the MMX mission is to scout the surface of Phobos before the spacecraft lands to collect samples and bring them back to Earth. 🌍🧪

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

After months of construction, our MODULARIS seagoing technology platform touched water for the first time last week in Flensburg. The hull is complete – next it heads to Bremerhaven for fitting-out. 🧵

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Shake, rattle and roll – on the Moon🌘 Earthquakes aren’t unique to Earth. 'Moonquakes', however, happen for different reasons than here at home. Without plate tectonics, the Moon shakes because of: 🌍Earth’s gravity 🗜the Moon is shrinking! ☄️meteoroid impacts 🌡️temperature changes between day and night

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

🛏️ 🚆Is this Europe’s future night train? Europe is experiencing a night train renaissance. In the ALISA project, we are reimagining their design: lightweight, modular, capacity increased by 40%, improved comfort and privacy, step-free access and convertible from seat to bed, day to night.

Europe's night train, reimagined
Meet ALISA – our concept for the future of long-distance rail.

Same train, day or night
Seats convert to beds, step-free access, 40% more capacity – all without adding extra load.

Comfort, privacy and choice
From solo cabins to family compartments – ALISA is designed for how people want to travel.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Mars has two moons, Deimos and Phobos: small, lumpy, cratered rocks that look more like asteroids. Scientists still aren't sure how either got there: captured asteroid, or debris from a giant impact on Mars? DLR's Stephan Ulamec breaks down the mystery, and why it matters for MMX and Idefix®.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Before a plane or engine gets certified, it must survive a bird strike. This is tested by firing bird remains (not live birds) from gas guns. We're building an artificial bird dummy to replace that – no birds harmed in our tests. 🪶✈️

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

🛤️ All aboard the InnoTrans2026! DLR will present its latest projects from rail research at InnoTrans2026. InnoTrans2026 will take place from 22 to 25 September 2026 in Berlin.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

🤖 15 of the world's most advanced AI-based robots took the stage at the European Parliament in Brussels last week. Our humanoid Rollin' Justin showed off its skills as a household assistant, alongside drones, quadrupeds and industrial systems.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

MMX is ready for launch! 🚀🛰️ JAXA recently unveiled the completed spacecraft, with the DLR/CNES Idefix rover mounted between its landing legs. Roughly the size of a crate of drinks, Idefix weighs just 25 kilograms. 🤏

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

🌕 New results from our MARE experiment! The AstroRad protective vest could reduce an astronaut's radiation dose by up to nearly 60% during a strong solar storm. ☀️ This was tested by flying two radiation measuring phantoms, Helga and Zohar, around the Moon and back on NASA's Artemis I in 2022.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

🏎️Meet U-Shift: a modular vehicle concept developed at DLR. A U-shaped, automated electric Driveboard pairs with interchangeable capsules for passengers or cargo. In U-Shift II, researchers built a new automated prototype and demonstrated centimetre-precise capsule docking. 🚐⚡

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

🔥🌍Watching wildfires from orbit – and helping crews on the ground respond faster. DLR's Fire Monitoring System uses MODIS data from NASA's Terra-1 and Aqua-1 satellites, and the Sentinel-3 OLCI, to track burning areas almost in real time. 🔍

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

🌔 What's hiding beneath the lunar surface – and how do we find it? That's the question behind the NEPOS project. DLR and @lmu.de are testing seismic methods on Lanzarote, where underground lava tubes have Moon-like structures – building on earlier trials in the LUNA hall.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

PLATO's ready to go! 🛰️ The spacecraft has successfully completed its electromagnetic compatibility tests at ESA's Maxwell test facility 🇳🇱 to check that its electronics all work together without interference. ✅ It has now passed all the necessary tests ahead of its launch in March 2027. 📸: @esa.int

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

[1/2] Half a century of wind, wings and data! 💨✈️ On 30 June 1976, the then DFVLR* (today's DLR) and the Netherlands Aerospace Centre launched DNW, the German-Dutch Wind Tunnels foundation. 50 years later, DNW has helped perfect icons like the A380, Eurofighter and F-35. 🎉

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

🛰️On 5 July, Japan's Hayabusa2♯ flew closely past a half-kilometre asteroid, Torifune, at 18,000 km/h. The goal: to develop technology precise enough to deliberately deflect an asteroid threatening Earth – should we ever need to. 🪐

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Mamers Valles is one of a minority of non-Latin names on Mars. It comes from Oscan, a language spoken in southern Italy around the 5th century BC to at least the 1st century AD. Its speakers, the Osci, were considered crude barbarians by Greeks & Romans.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

The skies are getting busier – and AI is entering the control tower. DLR's LOKI project spent 4 years building AI systems pilots and air traffic controllers actually trust. The results? Human and digital controllers together handled up to 25% more traffic than current sector limits. 🛫

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

🚨When disaster strikes, coordinating emergency response isn’t simple. To change that, 16 DLR institutes are collaborating on RESITEK. Project member Konstanze Lechner gives insight into the test day in Ahrweiler – drones, autonomous vehicles & robotics, feeding a situational picture for responders.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

📖 DLR’s heritage builds on its predecessor organisations, starting in 1907. The years to 1945 saw groundbreaking research marked by periods of war and injustice. Here, we summarise the background and objectives of our comprehensive historical study of this period.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

A new era for European space security 🛰️ 🏗️👷‍♀️Construction has begun on the GOVSATCOM hub at DLR Cologne, where public authorities & emergency services will be able to communicate securely via satellite – even when terrestrial networks fail. 🛰️

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

ILA 2026 is a wrap! ✈️🚀 Five days of sharing research, discussing the future of aviation and space, and meeting people who are just as curious about what's next as we are. Thanks to everyone who stopped by DLR's exhibits in Berlin. Until next time! #ILABerlin #ILA2026 #aerospace #berlin #dlr

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

A coating designed to destroy. 🔥 Instead of protecting satellite components, this ultra-thin PVD coating helps them burn up more completely during atmospheric re-entry – reducing the risk of space debris reaching Earth. Developed and tested at DLR as part of ESA’s Zero Debris initiative.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

A lucky coin for MODULARIS 🪙 This week DLR celebrated the keel-laying of its future 48m floating laboratory for maritime research in Flensburg.🥳 A lucky coin placed beneath a prefabricated steel module – the centuries-old start of something big. 🔩

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Wings that shapeshift mid-flight? ✈️The answer is yes — thanks to HyTEM. DLR's morphAIR project is developing wings that change shape in real time. HyTEM creates a smooth, a flexible trailing edge that can bend at 10 different points along its length — reducing drag while enabling full control. 😎

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

100 days. One habitat. No resupply. 🚀 SOLIS100 (@esa.int × @dlr-en.bsky.social) simulates long-duration space missions at :envihab Cologne 🇩🇪. Isolation, confinement, and strict resource limits shape daily life and even food must be precisely planned. 📝

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Reposted by German Aerospace Center (DLR)

ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 23/04/2026

📅 100 days 👥 6 volunteers 🔒 1 sealed research facility What happens to us when we're cut off from the world? The SOLIS100 study has officially begun in Germany to study the effects of isolation on humans: www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

esa.int

SOLIS100 isolation study begins in Germany

Six volunteers have stepped into a sealed habitat in Cologne, Germany, marking the start of SOLIS100, a new human isolation study led by the European Space Agency (ESA) and conducted by the German Aer...

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

To celebrate #EarthDay, 🌍🌳 check out this spectacular view over the Pongara national park in Gabon. The image was taken last year by one of our specialised research aircraft, flying in tandem with the Biomass spacecraft from.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

✈️ DLR's Falcon 20E flew behind a passenger aircraft & found that less soot doesn't mean fewer contrails. Tiny fuel & oil particles can form ice crystals too – meaning aviation's climate impact is bigger than we thought. The study, published in Nature, will help improve aviation's climate impact.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

It's almost time! Wishing the crew a safe and swift landing! 🥳😃🚀

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Reposted by German Aerospace Center (DLR)

ESA Exploration @exploration.esa.int · 06/04/2026

👨‍🚀 The #Artemis II crew are now further from home than any humans ever, and European engines brought them there 🚀. 🌍 The record of 400 171 km was previously held by the Apollo 13 mission 🌕.

(April 6, 2026) In this fully illuminated view of the Moon, the near side (the hemisphere we see from Earth), is visible on the right. It is identifiable by the dark splotches that cover its surface. These are ancient lava flows from a time early in the Moon’s history when it was volcanically active. The large crater west of the lava flows is Orientale basin, a nearly 600-mile-wide crater that straddles the Moon’s near and far sides. Orientale's left half is not visible from Earth, but in this image we have a full view of the crater. Everything to the left of the crater is the far side, the hemisphere we don’t get to see from Earth because the Moon rotates on its axis at the same rate that it orbits round us.

Image Credit: NASA

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

More incredible imagery from the Artemis II mission! 🌍Watching this crew push the boundaries of human exploration is truly exciting 😃We can't wait to see more! 😊🚀

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

How do we protect astronauts from space radiation on the way to the Moon? 🌕Thomas Berger (DLR) breaks down one of the toughest challenges of leaving Earth: what does it take to stay safe in space? The question suddenly feels very real with Artemis II on the way to the Moon 🚀 #artemis2 #dlr #nasa

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

😃 What a remarkable result! ESA's Juice mission turned its instruments toward interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in November 2025 in a once-in-a-generation opportunity. 🛰️ Proud to play our part as scientists now dig into these extraordinary datasets. We can't wait to see more of this! 😍☄️

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Reposted by German Aerospace Center (DLR)

European Space Agency @esa.int · 02/04/2026

✅ New photos just in. See flic.kr/s/aHBqjCPE1j Coming up, in a few hours, a final burn performed by our European Service Module's main engine will send the crew on their way to the Moon! (Pics: ESA/S. Corvaja) @exploration.esa.int

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

And we are ready! 🛰️ Flying along for the ride is our improved M-42 EXT radiation sensor, which will help to better understand the radiation risks astronauts face on the way to the Moon. 🥳🔬 What an exciting week ahead! #artemis2

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

😎Breakthrough in propulsion research! 🚀 Europe’s first cryogenic rotating detonation engine (RDE) ran from gaseous oxygen to liquid at −183 °C, creating epic powerblasts and critical data. This is what the future of propulsion looks like! 💥 #propulsion #blast #rde #engineresearch

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

@esa.int's PLATO spacecraft is currently locked inside a giant vacuum chamber, being pushed to -80°C and +160°C to ensure it survives the extremes of space. Due out by end of March, then on to Ariane 6 in early 2027. 🛰️😎

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

🪐Mars Minutes is back! This time visiting the Trouvelot Crater – one of Mars’ oldest! What catches our eye is a bright central hill rich in clay & sulphur minerals formed by water. Remnants of an ancient crater lake? 🌅 Maybe. We don’t know yet – but what a sight. More Mars to come! 🥳

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

🌀 Every plane leaves invisible spinning vortices in its wake – and the aircraft behind it could fly right into them. They form whenever a plane generates lift, carrying enough energy to cause abrupt reactions in a following aircraft. 😎

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

🛰️ESA's CHEOPS detects distant planets by catching tiny dips in starlight - but that requires extraordinary precision. Thanks to DLR's thermal engineering, the detector stays stable to within 0.01 °C. Without that, accurate exoplanet measurements simply wouldn't be possible. 🔬🌍

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

In 2029, asteroid Apophis will fly safely by Earth. @esa.int & JAXA are sending RAMSES to study it with two CubeSats: Don Quijote, which will land on the asteroid, and Farinella. Why? Because asteroid impacts are the only natural disaster we could prevent. 🚀🌍[

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

🚁 DLR’s Smart Twisting Active Rotor (STAR) project is testing ‘smart’ rotor blades that twist using electric actuators and reduce noise by 7 dB – cutting vibrations and boosting efficiency. A big step for quieter, smoother, more efficient helicopters & future urban air mobility!

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

HALO is flying again today! 🥳 You can track it live on flightradar 🤓🌍

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

ESA's Plato spacecraft gets shaken to its core! 🚀 These vibration tests simulate the extreme forces during lift-off – one of many checks to ensure a successful journey to space. 📹: @esa.int #plato #shakeit #vibecheck #dlr

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

🌍 Winter storms in Europe are hard to predict because key processes start high over the North Atlantic. 💨 Dry air intrusions can worsen many storms as they travel from North America to Europe. ✈️ HALO is now stationed in Ireland to take measurements across the Atlantic, improving weather models.

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Good News! The deadline has been moved to the 23rd of February! 🥳🤩 Use the link below to send your #GoodLuckMMX wishes 👇

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German Aerospace Center (DLR) @dlr-en.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Your reminder to send your #GoodLuckMMX wishes to Idefix, the DLR/CNES rover, before the 18th of January (this Sunday)! And don’t forget to collect your boarding certificate! 🥳 You can find the form at the bottom of JAXA’s website: goodluck-mmx.jp/en/

goodluck-mmx.jp

グッドラックMMX | JAXA「MMX」応援キャンペーン

All aboard for departure in FY 2026! Messages of support for the Martian Moons eXploration mission, MMX

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Reposted by German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Elizabeth Tasker @elizabethtasker.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

If you want to send a message with the Martian Moons eXploration (#MMX) spacecraft 🛰️ when it launches for Phobos this year (and receive a cool boarding certificate!), you now have until February 23 to get your message to us! 🔭🧪

isas.jaxa.jp

#GoodLuckMMX!　Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission message campaign — Submission period extended | ISAS

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