The Mekong is of the world’s largest rivers. Its delta extends across 40,000 square kilometres in South West Vietnam. Tourists experience the Mekong Delta as a fruitful region through which uncountable waterways flow and on which the people in their boats engage in everyday life and business. The markets overflow with tropical fruits, three rice harvests per year and aquacultures for prawn and pangasius secure a modest level of prosperity.

To 'WISDOM: Knowledge à la carte'

“The specially developed measurement instruments and devices plus the enormous performance capacity of the research aircraft HALO make it unique in the world,” says Dr. Helmut Ziereis, who coordinates the work on HALO at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). HALO stands for “High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft”.

To 'Special aircraft for atmospheric research'

The satellite TerraSAR-X has been observing Earth for more than two years now. Terra, from the Latin, stands for Earth, SAR for the radar technology – Synthetic Aperture Radar – and X for the frequency range in the X-band. Using the radar technology, the satellite can also collect data from the Earth’s surface in cloudy or dark conditions.

To 'Radar satellite looks through the clouds'

The waste heat from car exhausts currently escapes alternator car battery. “Hidden reserves lie here. We could use the waste heat and convert it into electrical power,” explains Dr. Wolf Eckhard Müller, Head of Department at the Institute of Materials Research at the German Aerospace Center.

To '200 watts of power output through exhaust heat'