The first DHL space parcel sent to the International Space Station (ISS) with a Russian Soyuzrocket on 12 October has returned back to earth after a successful mission.
The parcel contained an experiment developed by DHL and the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) toinvestigate how model parcels of different weights can reach their destination in zero gravity.
The experiment carried out on board ISS has proved that heavier parcels are transportedfaster in outer space than lighter ones. This was correctly predicted by the three “Youth Research”winners of the associated “Mission-to-Space” competition. The winners were rewarded with grantstotalling €6,000.
Space tourist Richard Garriott, son of the former Apollo astronaut Owen Garriott, carried outthe experiment and documented it on video. The shots were shown for the first time at the awardceremony at the DHL Innovation Centre in Bonn where the three junior researchers could see theaccuracy of their forecast for themselves.
DHL has analysed the outcome of the experiment and compared it with the forecasts of all “Youth Research” participants. “The results have shown that the lighter model is decelerated morestrongly due to friction resistance and therefore gets slower,” explained Wilfried Tost from theGerman Aerospace Centre.
“It is an established tradition at DHL and Deutsche Post to promote young talents. Theengagement of the young people and the quality of the answers during the test were impressive,”commented Dr. Andrej Busch, Division Board Marketing at DHL Parcel Germany.
In addition, DHL is supporting the activities of the Foundation Youth Research with subsidyawards amounting to €30,000. The donation sum represents the revenues from parcel sets in a special‘space mission’ design that DHL sold on the occasion of the ISS experiment.
