47th DLR parabolic flight Oxygen from CO₂, Walking on the Moon and a Robotic Arm

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The 47th DLR parabolic flight campaign is testing technologies and human capabilities for future space missions, from producing oxygen from CO₂ to walking in lunar gravity and servicing satellites with a compact robotic arm.

On 15 September 2026, the Airbus A310 ZERO-G took off from Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport at 9:30 a.m. to take scientists and their experiments into microgravity. It was the first of three consecutive flight days during the 47th parabolic flight campaign organised by the German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

A total of twelve experiments from German research institutions, universities and universities of applied sciences were being conducted on board during the current parabolic flight campaign.

Producing oxygen from CO₂ for space missions

On longer lunar missions or space flights, for example to Mars, it is not sufficient to carry oxygen reserves. Efficiently using and recycling all resources available locally is therefore essential. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is always available as a resource on space missions because humans exhale it. In addition, the Martian atmosphere consists of around 95 percent CO₂.

Electrolysis can be used to produce valuable chemical products from CO₂, such as carbon monoxide or methane, which can serve as fuels or chemical building materials. If water is used as the electrolyte, oxygen is also produced, which can be used directly for life support. Water reserves have already been discovered on the Moon and Mars and could be used for this purpose.

The COLA ZERO experiment conducted by the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen (Germany) investigates how the electrochemical conversion of CO₂ and the simultaneous production of oxygen behave under altered gravity.

On Earth, gravity plays an important role in electrolysis. In a solution, an electrode generates gas bubbles, which then move towards the surface of the electrolysis chamber due to natural buoyancy. Since microgravity prevails in space, this movement is absent. After a certain amount of time, the electrode becomes surrounded by gas bubbles and the reaction stops. The COLA ZERO experiment uses a specially divided electrolysis chamber design to enable the gas bubbles to detach.

How do humans walk on the Moon?

In the near future, the next human will set foot on the Moon. Studies show that fine motor skills, balance and gait are impaired by reduced gravity, potentially making functional mobility a challenge for astronauts during lunar exploration. This is particularly the case if they have previously spent an extended period in microgravity, with their skeleton and muscles completely unloaded.

The "Unloaded Minds" experiment conducted by the German Sport University Cologne (Germany) investigates the full spectrum of movement under these conditions. It is not yet known whether prolonged unloading of the muscles in microgravity affects the planning of movement in the nervous system. Do people forget how to walk? How is walking controlled in lunar gravity when the corresponding muscles have not been used for an extended period?

For 14 days before the parabolic flight, the participants had one leg completely unloaded. During the parabolic flight, they took their first steps under lunar gravity. This is enabled by a complex cable system that pulls the participants onto a treadmill with 16 percent of their body weight. The experiment provides a realistic scenario for a long-duration space mission: prolonged unloading in microgravity followed by the retrieval of neuromotor programmes.

For the unloading phase, the researchers from Cologne draw on the expertise of the renowned Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. The institute has many years of experience in the targeted unloading of muscles and the skeleton, a methodology that is incorporated directly into the Cologne experiment as part of this close international collaboration. Only by combining this expertise is it possible to recreate the realistic long-duration scenario of a space mission so closely.

A foldable robotic arm for satellite servicing

Space in low Earth orbit is limited. At the same time, more and more satellites are operating there. It is therefore necessary to remove space debris from this region. It would be better to be able to service and repair satellites so that they do not become space debris in the first place.

In the future, robots could perform both tasks. The "Benchmarking Arm Reliability in microgravity Tests" (BART) experiment conducted by TU Berlin (Germany) and RWTH Aachen University (Germany) investigates the performance of a novel LISA (Little Inspection and Servicing-Arm) robotic arm in microgravity. The arm, developed as part of the DLR HOMER-ODISEE project, is designed to fit within the minimum volume of a small satellite, making it approximately the size of a shipping box. Its key innovation lies in its compact and modular design. It can manoeuvre around obstacles in a snake-like manner while carrying out highly complex tasks in space at low cost.

Further information

The German Space Agency at DLR's website on DLR parabolic flights provides further information.