Exploration and science

Ever since the prehistoric era, men and women have crossed oceans, mountain ranges and hostile regions to discover and settle new continents even in the face of great danger and hardship. Today, we can reach even the most remote parts of the earth such as frozen polar regions, the oceans, the deserts and even the regions high up in our atmosphere.

Since the mid twentieth century, great determination coupled with the availability of the necessary technology has allowed us to conquer the next great frontier: space. At that time, the United States and Soviet Union were vying for leadership in the research of the stratosphere, the exosphere and the magnetosphere. 

Today, exploration is being performed by means of automated, robot and manned space missions. In general terms, the purpose is to utilize space and to search for new places for sustainable extraterrestrial human settlement.

As such a goal goes far beyond the resources of a single country, a global alliance of all nations active in space travel is necessary. Since 2006, the space agencies of 14 countries have been working jointly on a plan for robotic and manned missions for exploring regions in space which could one day be settled by man. Initially, the focus is on destinations within our own solar system.

Our closest neighbor, the moon, holds information on the solar system's history spanning more than four billion years. At the same time, it is an excellent platform for scientific research and for preparing manned missions to distant destinations.

With its atmosphere and the availability of water, Mars is the closest planet similar to the earth. It holds the promise of a new understanding of how life developed in our solar system and offers the potential for extraterrestrial human settlement.

Other destinations for exploration missions are the asteroids and the moons orbiting the giant planets.

In addition to the settlement and utilization of space, the focus is also on finding answers to scientific questions concerning the origin and development of

• the solar system
• the universe
• life on earth and in the rest of the universe

as part of civilian space projects.

Exploration and space science involve a high degree of cross-disciplinary questions, thus creating new technological approaches and fresh opportunities for science, research and business.

Via a wide range of different national and international projects, OHB is closely involved in exploration and space science, acting as both a components supplier and a principal contractor.

As the largest German space technology company, OHB additionally takes the initiative and performs its own self-financed exploration and space science studies.

Man has only just begun to conquer space. Indeed, most exploration and research activities are confined to a distance of just a few kilometers from the earth's surface.