The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is working on a satellite-based system for substantially improving ship navigation in ice-affected waters. The Earth observation satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X provide the high-resolution images needed to make this possible. Scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) - the Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research based in Bremerhaven - are currently on their way to Antarctica on board the research vessel 'Polarstern' to test the practicality of this technique.