DLR Mars InSight: HP3-Experiment uses German Drill technology - YouTube

After the successful landing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity by NASA has approved a further landing mission on Mars.

The InSight mission will be ready in 2016 and will arrive after a six-month flight to Mars. With InSight there should be a number of geophysical experiments to take a look at the interior of the Red Planet, including the German Aerospace Center (DLR) developed experiment HP3, which will penetrate several meters into the Martian soil.

This experiment make heat flow measurements make and investigate the thermo-mechanical properties of the Martian soil. InSight is a mnemonic for 'Interior Exploration using Seismic investigations, geodesy and heat transport'.

The mission name shows that this mission is primarily focussed on geophysical experiments which are conducted on and under the surface of Mars, for example, by measuring the velocity of seismic waves or the flow of heat.

The aim of the mission is to understand the structure and condition of the core and cladding, and the thermal evolution of Mars.

The InSight HP3 experiment was developed at DLR. HP3 "Heat Flow and Physical Property Package".

For more information: s.dlr.de/vmu5

First US Footage of Space - Captured german V2 Rocket

This is the first US Footage of Space taken from a German V2 Rocket launched from White Sands New Mexico in 1946. German Rocket scientists were 'extracted' from Germany at the end of the War in Europe to establish a Rocket Programme for the US.

The most famous of these scientists was Von Braun, who became a major player in US rocket technology despite being a German Nazi member and supporter of Hitler's regime.



Von Braun went on to build the Saturn-V Moon Rocket for US President JF Kennedy.

Airbus and DLR testing fuel cell technology to cut aircraft pollution and noise emissions

The goals of the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) to reduce CO2 emissions by 50 percent, NOx emissions by 80 percent and noise cut by 50 percent by 2020 has seen aircraft manufacturers and airlines looking at alternative fuels such as biofuel.

While not feasible for powering the flight of the aircraft itself, Airbus has also been looking at the potential for fuel cell technology to power a number of aircraft functions, such as autonomous taxiing.

In 2008, Airbus, together with its research partner the German Aerospace Center (DLR), performed the first successful flight test of fuel cell technology where a fuel cell system provided power for the aircraft's back-up systems.

Airbus and DLR are now looking at the potential of fuel cell technology for powering other aircraft functions including autonomous taxiing.

A DLR designed technology demonstrator has been installed in a DLR owned A320 ATRA (Advanced Technology Research Aircraft) consisting of a fuel cell system powering two electric motors built into the rims of the aircraft nose wheel.

The 47-ton aircraft taxied around Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport propelled by an electric nose wheel on July 1st, 2011.

DLR says that an airliner fitted with a fuel cell-powered nose wheel would be able to move from its stand to the end of the runway without using its engines, thus allowing emissions produced in airports to be cut by up to roughly 18 percent and the noise during taxiing to be almost eliminated completely.

Although DLR is still working on detailed models of the potential savings at airports, Thorsten Mulhouse from the DLR Institute of Flight Guidance (Institut für Flugführung) says, "the potential saving at Frankfurt Airport from the use of electrically-driven nose wheels for Airbus A320 class aircraft is about 44 tons of kerosene per day."

Airbus and DLR testing fuel cell technology to cut aircraft pollution and noise emissions

DLR German Aerospace team with Bombadier for the train of the future

The German Aerospace Centre and Bombardier Transportation are pooling their expertise in the area of railway vehicle research.

During a press conference at DLR's facility in Gottingen, Prof. Johann-Dietrich Worner, Chairman of the Executive Board of DLR, and Dr Klaus Baur, Chairman of the Management Board of Bombardier Transportation Germany, have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at long-term collaboration.

The terms of the contract include regular professional exchanges and provide for simpler commissioning of joint research and development work. The framework agreement covers an initial period up to 31 December 2014.

The main aim of the agreement is to jointly promote research and development into next-generation high-speed trains and to optimise the use of each party's expertise. Practical fields of collaboration are railway vehicle aerodynamics and aeroacoustics, dynamic stability, interior airflows and interior acoustics.

Lightweight vehicle construction, energy systems and energy management, issues regarding homologation and railway control systems, as well as safety systems, are also covered.

"In the medium-term we expect the creation of express trains that are more climate-friendly, more efficient, lighter and more comfortable," explained Prof. Worner during the signing ceremony.

"We are developing technologies for tomorrow's trains and identifying what could be technically feasible. However, only with a strong partner from private industry, such as the one we have found in Bombardier Transportation to an optimum degree, can we determine whether and how our ideas can actually be implemented in practice," continued Prof. Worner.

DLR was pleased to agree to Bombardier Transportations proposal to enter into a framework agreement, the DLR Chairman explained. He said that the Gottingen research site possesses a long tradition and an excellent level of expertise in the field of high-speed research. Over the next year, two key test facilities for high-speed vehicle construction are to be opened: a tunnel simulation facility that is globally unique and a crosswind test facility.

"DLR is an ideal research and development partner for Bombardier. We are world market leader in rail technology; DLR is the leading research institution in the area of mobility. This is an ideal combination for exchange between industry and science," emphasized Dr Klaus Baur, Chairman of the Management Board of Bombardier Transportation Germany.

"Both partners have excellent specialists, whose fields of activity outstandingly complement each other. We will use these abilities in close cooperation and for a systematic exchange of expert knowledge. The innovative strategy of Bombardier focuses on making rail traffic even more attractive, more economical and environmentally friendly. Together with DLR we will be able to recognise and set technical trends even earlier," continued Dr Baur.

In two special presentations, Prof. Andreas Dillmann, Executive Director of DLR's Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology in Gottingen, and Dr Alexander Orellano, Manager, Centre of Competence in Aero- and Thermodynamics at Bombardier Transportation, presented the topics of railway transportation aerodynamics and high-speed research for the trains of the future.

Prof. Dillmann explained that a key safety aspect for high-speed trains is crosswind stability, especially with regard to double-deck trains as planned by DLR.

The forces acting upon high-speed trains are enormous, particularly in tunnels, on bridges or when there is oncoming traffic. For example, at a speed of 300 kilometres per hour, there is very little downforce on the leading vehicle of the train, so it could tip over if subjected to a strong crosswind.

Dr Orellano used the aerodynamic table developed by Bombardier Transportation to demonstrate the aerodynamic effects that act upon trains that are constructed using various techniques. Using a silver rotary switch, five construction variables can be adjusted for the table.

The user can then run a race against the ZEFIRO high-speed train developed by Bombardier and tested in DLR's facilities. In this way, users can understand which components of a train have an effect on aerodynamics.

With its five wind tunnels related to high-speed vehicle construction, DLR possesses a test facility portfolio that is unique in Europe. At DLR, the elements for tomorrow's trains come together in the 'Next Generation Train' project. The expertise of nine of DLR's institutes will be combined under the auspices of the DLR Institute for Vehicle Concepts in Stuttgart.