New DLR Institute of Space Research

Brain City Berlin

The aerospace industry in Brain City Berlin is being strengthened by a new competence centre. With the DLR Institute of Space Research founded at the beginning of May, the German Aerospace Center in Berlin Adlershof is pooling its expertise in the field of space instruments and space research.

The new DLR Institute of Space Research merges the DLR Institutes of Optical Sensor Systems and Planetary Research, which are already located at the Berlin “Zukunftsort” (future location) Adlershof. According to DLR, this will create a world-leading competence centre for optical sensor systems and their use in planetary research, Earth observation and security. The new institute employs around 300 people and covers the entire research chain: from the idea to the design, construction and verification of instruments and their operational use, as well as the processing, scientific evaluation and archiving of the acquired data. The institute aims to facilitate the exchange of knowledge with partners from research, industry and business as well as public stakeholders to put new technologies into practice.

"We see ourselves as a partner for universities, research institutions, industry, authorities and political decision-makers and work closely with them," says Prof. Dr. Heinz-Wilhelm Hübers, Director of the newly founded DLR Institute. "We play a leading role in national and international space missions and help to shape them. In doing so, we are helping to answer the fundamental questions of our time and to solve major social issues such as climate change and security."

Hübers previously headed the DLR Institute of Optical Sensor Systems, which was integrated into the new institute. Prof. Dr. Heike Rauer, who previously headed the Institute of Planetary Research, will in future advise the DLR Executive Board on ESA matters. Furthermore, as part of her special professorship, she intends to intensify cooperation with Freie Universität Berlin in the field of planetary geophysics. And as Principal Investigator, she will continue to lead the instrument consortium in the ESA PLATO project, which is scheduled to start at the end of 2026.

Specifically, cameras, spectrometers, radiometers and laser altimeters for the entire spectral range will being developed at the Institute of Space Research in close cooperation with industry – from ultraviolet light through the wavelengths of the visible and infrared range to the terahertz range. Such instruments are on board of more than 20 national and international space missions of ESA, NASA and other space organisations. Examples include the ESA planetary missions BepiColombo to Mercury and JUICE to Jupiter or the ESA space telescope PLATO. This also includes the environmental instruments DESIS on the International Space Station ISS and the German satellite mission EnMAP. Scientific cameras developed at the institute provide information on the status and development of terrestrial ecosystems and the Earth's atmosphere. They therefore help to understand better complex, coupled environmental systems and global climate change. In addition, the DLR Institute of Space Research will also use its instruments and expertise in the areas of civil protection, disaster relief and crisis management. (vdo)