Tag: DLR

Farewell to the Eu:CROPIS mission

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Euglena and Combined Regenerative Organic-Food Production in Space (Eu:CROPIS) satellite. (Credit: DLR)
  • The Eu:CROPIS mission ended on 31 December 2019
  • Three of the four on-board experiments yielded extensive datasets
  • The first on-board computer developed by DLR functioned reliably in space
  • Compact satellite design demonstrated innovative lightweight construction technologies in space
  • Focus: Space, exploration, research under space conditions, technology for space systems

COLOGNE, Germany (DLR PR) — The experimentation phase on board the Euglena and Combined Regenerative Organic-Food Production in Space (Eu:CROPIS) satellite developed by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) came to an end on 31 December 2019. The compact satellite has been in an orbit around Earth that passes over the north and south poles for over one year.

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DLR Phantoms Undergo Fit Check in NASA’s Orion Spacecraft

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Orion capsule for Artemis I mission. (Credit: NASA)
  • MARE is an experiment to measure radiation exposure on the female body during NASA’s Artemis I mission.
  • The phantoms Helga and Zohar are DLR measurement bodies and will be flying to the Moon and back on the first, uncrewed flight of the Orion spacecraft.
  • They will acquire gender-specific measurement data on space radiation beyond the orbit of the ISS for the first time.
  • They are also testing the effectiveness of a newly developed radiation protection vest (AstroRad).
  • Focus: Space, human spaceflight, aerospace medicine, radiation biology

COLOGNE, Germany (DLR PR) — The intensity of space radiation is much greater outside Earth’s protective magnetic field. This causes problems for the human body and represents a challenge for future crewed space missions to the Moon and Mars.

The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is conducting research to determine the radiation risk for crewed spaceflight. One of the projects that the researchers are carrying out together with NASA, the Israeli Space Agency ISA and the companies Lockheed Martin and StemRad is the Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE).

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CIMON-2 on Way to ISS

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Cimon 2 during tests. (Credit: DLR)
  • Like its predecessor, the technology experiment, developed and built in Germany, is designed to interact with astronauts in the Columbus laboratory.
  • CIMON-2 has a better ‘sense of orientation’ and is more ’empathic’.
  • DLR, Airbus and IBM continue their partnership.

COLOGNE, Germany (DLR PR) — A new Crew Interactive MObile companioN (CIMON) is on its way the International Space Station (ISS). On 5 December 2019 at 18:29 CET (12:29 local time) the US SpaceX CRS-19 mission lifted off from the spaceport at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

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Germany Invests 3.3 Billion Euros in European Space Exploration, Becomes ESA’s Largest Contributor

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  • Three years after the last ESA Council Meeting at Ministerial Level, held in Lucerne, Switzerland, government representatives from the 22 Member States met in Seville, Spain, on 27 and 28 November 2019 and committed a total of almost 14.4 billion euro [$15.87 billion] for space programmes over the next few years.
  • Germany is contributing 3.3 billion euro [$3.6 billion] to ESA programmes focusing on Earth observation, telecommunications, technological advancement and commercialisation / NewSpace.
  • At 22.9 percent, Germany is now ESA’s largest contributor, followed by France (18.5 percent, 2.66 billion euro), Italy (15.9 percent, 2.28 billion euro) and the United Kingdom (11.5 percent, 1.65 billion euro).
  • The ESA Council Meeting at Ministerial Level is the highest political decision-making body, and it defines the content and financial framework for ESA’s space programmes every two to three years.
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Plasma Crystal Research Conducted on the ISS

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ISS and the Columbus module. (Credit: ESA/NASA)
  • Plasma research on the ISS – Cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov will be carrying out a new series of experiments from 10 to 16 November 2019
  • Important knowledge for tomorrow – the plasma crystal laboratory PK-4 provides insights into fundamental physical processes
  • Plasma is ionised gas and is considered to be the fourth state of matter in addition to solids, liquids and gases. Complex plasmas are formed when dust particles are present in the neutral gas

TOULOUSE, France (DLR PR) — More plasma research is being conducted on the International Space Station (ISS). From 10 to 16 November 2019, the Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov will be carrying out a new series of experiments with the PK-4 plasma crystal laboratory. Under the direction of scientists from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR), Skvortsov will record how microparticles move through a neon plasma in microgravity, forming structures and thus providing insights into basic physical processes.

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The Mars Mole and the Challenging Ground of the Red Planet

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DLR ‘Mole’ after having moved backward. (Credit NASA/JPL)

COLOGNE, Germany (DLR PR) — NASA’s InSight mission landed on Mars in November 2018. The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is involved in the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) experiment. In addition to a radiometer for measuring the surface temperature, the core component of the experiment is the Mars ‘Mole’ – a 40-centimetre-long penetrometer designed to measure the heat flow from the Martian interior at a depth of several metres.

In February 2019, the Mole began hammering. It got stuck at first, but with the help of InSight’s robotic arm it was able to penetrate almost completely into the Martian surface in October 2019. Without the additional support from the arm’s scoop, it then began a sudden retreat which has led to almost half of the Mole protruding from the Martian regolith.

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Space Agencies Sign Agreements to Advance Artemis Lunar Program, Commercial Space Activities

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Updated Nov. 4, 2019 at 12:45 PST to include agreement between U.S. Department of Commerce and CNES.

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

The world’s space agencies were busy signing agreements last month to advance lunar exploration and commercial space activities during the International Astronautical Conference in Washington, DC.

NASA signed agreements with the European Space Agency (ESA) and three national agencies in Europe focused on advancing America’s Artemis program, which aims to land astronauts on the moon in 2024.

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Update on InSight’s Mars Mole

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InSight Mars mole partially backed out from its hole. (Credit:: NASA)

BERLIN (DLR PR) — In his logbook, Instrument Lead Tilman Spohn who is back in Berlin since April and communicating with JPL via the web, gives us the latest updates regarding the InSight mission and our HP3 instrument – the ‘Mole’ – which will hammer into the Martian surface.

Logbook entry 28 October 2019

More surprises on Mars! Unfortunately, we saw that the Mole had backed-out of the Martian soil instead of going deeper as we had expected. How could that happen? After all, this Mole does not have a reverse gear as the Mole that DLR built for the ill-fated European Beagle II lander had. (That probe was designed as a sampling device that would go down and then come up again with a sample.)

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Mars InSight’s Mole Has Partially Backed Out of Its Hole

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InSight Mars mole partially backed out from its hole. (Credit NASA)

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — After making progress over the past several weeks digging into the surface of Mars, InSight’s mole has backed about halfway out of its hole this past weekend. Preliminary assessments point to unusual soil conditions on the Red Planet. The international mission team is developing the next steps to get it buried again.

A scoop on the end of the arm has been used in recent weeks to “pin” the mole against the wall of its hole, providing friction it needs to dig. The next step is determining how safe it is to move InSight’s robotic arm away from the mole to better assess the situation. The team continues to look at the data and will formulate a plan in the next few days.

Meantime, the lander’s seismometer — the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure, or, SEIS — continues to collect data on marsquakes in order to provide a better understanding of the Mars interior and why Earth and the Red Planet are so different today after sharing similarities billions of years ago. The French space agency, Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) and its partners provided the SEIS instrument to NASA.

DLR, Swedish Space Corp to Cooperate on Rocket Engine Tests

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WASHINGTON (DLR PR) — A new test stand for the next generation of sounding rockets, microlaunchers and reusable launchers will be constructed at the Swedish Esrange Space Center.

The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop this test stand at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) on 22 October 2019.

Further topics of the cooperation will be the exchange of expertise and intensified collaboration in the field of engine and launcher stage testing. Among other things, the collaboration will increase the availability of engine test stands and thus make these available to more space companies.

“In SSC, we have found the right partner for the joint planning and implementation of a test stand for hybrid and liquid-fuel engines at Esrange Space Center (ESC),” says Stefan Schlechtriem, Director of the DLR Institute of Space Propulsion. “DLR Lampoldshausen is contributing its unique expertise as a European testing and development location for all liquid chemical space engines to the development of the next generation of engines,” emphasises Schlechtriem, adding: “This collaboration will enable us to bring together the expertise of our institutions.”

With the intensified cooperation between SSC and DLR, the two partners will provide the infrastructure in Europe for the entire range of engine tests, including tests at an early stage of development, thus increasing the portfolio of testing opportunities in Europe.

“There has been a shortage of suitable test sites for early stage and short preparatory tests for the next generation of sounding rockets, microlaunchers and reusable rockets. By combining our testing capabilities with DLR, we can provide Europe with more testing capacity, thus strengthening the development of European space programmes,” says Stefan Gardefjord, President and CEO of SSC.

FAA, DLR to Cooperate on Integrating Commercial Spaceflight into Air Traffic Control System

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WASHINGTON (DLR PR) — The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) and the Office of Commercial Space Transportation of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are seeking to identify the data that may need to be exchanged between United States and European Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) prior to, during and after a space launch or re-entry operation that is initiated in one country and traverses the airspace of another country.

This data exchange should facilitate improved situational awareness, allowing US and European ANSPs to respond as necessary in the event of a vehicle failure. To this end, the FAA and DLR intend to bring together their unique capabilities using FAA’s Commercial Space Integration Lab and DLR’s Air Traffic Validation Center, located in the USA and Germany respectively.

In order to be able to cooperate and exchange data in the future, a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the development of commercial space transportation was signed by Pascale Ehrenreund, Chair of the DLR Executive Board, and Wayne R. Monteith, Associate Administrator, Office of Commercial Space Transportation, on 24 October 2019. The signatory ceremony was held at DLR’s stand at the 70th International Astronautical Congress in Washington, DC.

The MoC reflects the excellent collaboration that FAA and DLR have developed since the first Research and Development Cooperative Agreement of both establishments, which was signed in 2010.

Luxembourg, Germany to Deepen Cooperation in Space

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  • German Aerospace Center, abbreviated DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt), and Luxembourg Space Agency, abbreviated LSA, to cooperate in the exploration and use of space
  • The signing ceremony took place at the 70th International Aeronautical Congress in Washington DC, the US capital

WASHINGTON, DC (LSA PR) — Representatives of DLR and LSA have signed a Letter of Intent to co-operate on space research activities with particular focus on areas such as navigation, satellite communications, space exploration and space resources, including robotics and in-orbit services.

LSA is interested in DLR to cooperate in establishing in Luxembourg an interdisciplinary research center within the SpaceResources.lu initiative aiming at developing a sustainable commercial space resources utilization industry.

The Letter of Intent was signed for the DLR by Prof. Dr. Pascale Ehrenfreund, Chair of the Executive Board and Prof. Dr. Hansjörg Dittus, Member of the Executive Board for Space Research and Technology.

Marc Serres, CEO of the Luxembourg Space Agency signed for the LSA. The signing ceremony took place on October 22, 2019 at the 70th International Aeronautical Congress held in Washington DC, the US capital.

Marc Serres, CEO of Luxembourg Space Agency said: “I am very pleased that with the letter of intent we further formalize and enhance the cooperation on space activities between the DLR and the LSA. The German Aerospace Center has already been a long-standing partner. Together with the DLR and other partners, we want to further develop research activities in areas such as the utilization of space resources for the benefit of humankind.”

Mars InSight’s ‘Mole’ Is Moving Again

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DLR Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP³) on the surface of Mars. (Credit: NASA)

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — NASA’s InSight spacecraft has used its robotic arm to help its heat probe, known as “the mole,” dig nearly 2 centimeters (3/4 of an inch) over the past week. While modest, the movement is significant: Designed to dig as much as 16 feet (5 meters) underground to gauge the heat escaping from the planet’s interior, the mole has only managed to partially bury itself since it started hammering in February 2019.

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NASA’s Push to Save the Mars InSight Lander’s Heat Probe

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NASA’s InSight lander on Mars is trying to use its robotic arm to get the mission’s heat flow probe, or mole, digging again. InSight team engineer Ashitey Trebbi-Ollennu, based at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, explains what has been attempted and the game plan for the coming weeks. The next tactic they’ll try will be “pinning” the mole against the hole it’s in. (Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — NASA’s InSight lander, which is on a mission to explore the deep interior of Mars, positioned its robotic arm this past weekend to assist the spacecraft’s self-hammering heat probe. Known as “the mole,” the probe has been unable to dig more than about 14 inches (35 centimeters) since it began burying itself into the ground on Feb. 28, 2019.

The maneuver is in preparation for a tactic, to be tried over several weeks, called “pinning.”

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