German Aerospace Center (DLR) officially announced the creation of a new Center for Control and Research of Manned Missions (Human Exploration Control Center — HECC). The project was presented at the beginning of February 2026 year.
The main characteristics of the new center:
Location: The center will be located in Oberpfaffenhofen (near Munich) and will be an expansion of the already existing German Space Operations Center (GSOC).
Appointment: Management of future manned and robotic missions to the Moon and Mars. In particular, it will service the European modules of the Lunar Gateway lunar station (I-HAB, HLCS your SPIRIT) within NASA's Artemis program.
Financing: The total cost of the project is approx 78 million euros. Of them 58 million euros is allocated by the government of Bavaria, and will 20 million euros — DLR itself.
Deadlines: Construction is scheduled to begin on 2028 year, and commissioning is expected by 2030 year.
Technologies: The center will develop autonomous tools based on artificial intelligence (METIS project) to support long-duration missions beyond low Earth orbit.
This initiative should strengthen Europe's strategic autonomy in space exploration and make Germany a key player in returning humanity to the moon.
Source: https://www.spacedaily.com