Contrails – beyond soot Latest findings in atmospheric research show that less soot does not automatically mean fewer contrail ice crystals. Instead, small volatile particles play a crucial role in contrail formation at low ...

Find out more about the contrail formation study here:
www.dlr.de/en/latest/ne...

Background Music: Waves of Time - Amber Glow

✈️ 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.

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

Congrats on breaking humanity’s record for the farthest distance traveled from Earth by a crewed spacecraft 🚀 A huge step forward 🤩 Here’s to pushing the boundaries even further. 😎

(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

👨‍🚀 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 🌕.

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! 😊🚀

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

😃 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!
😍☄️

SLS lift off for Artemis II

SLS lift off for Artemis II

SLS lift off for Artemis II

SLS lift off for Artemis II

✅ 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

But now I got so excited for Steve 🥲

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

😎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

🔭Those 26 gleaming blue lenses will one day scan space for Earth-like exoplanets. Almost there, PLATO – hope you brought a good book! 📖

📸: ESA

@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. 🛰️😎

🪐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! 🥳

So what did DLR scientists do? They flew straight into them. On purpose! 😳 120 encounters. All to develop WEAA – a system that warns pilots before they ever feel a thing. 🛫

🌀 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. 😎

Studying star system LHS 1903, CHEOPS confirmed 3 known planets - and discovered a 4th. The twist? The outermost planet is rocky, flipping the pattern we know from our own solar system. Turns out the universe doesn't always play by the rules! 🌌

#cheops #cheopstelescope #dlr #ESA

🛰️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. 🔬🌍

#asteroid #asteroidresearch #DLR #Apophis

Two instruments financed almost exclusively by Germany (DLR) will be joining:
RPS – the first plasma spectrometer ever flown on an asteroid mission, measuring the plasma environment.

MARIE – a magnetometer that will study Apophis’ magnetic field and help us better understand its internal structure.

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. 🚀🌍[

#HelicopterInnovation #DLR #TestCentre

🚁 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!

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

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

📽️: NAWDIC

#HALO #HALONAWDIC #Ireland #weatherprediction #DLR

🌍 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.

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