Icarus launches second system into orbit

The microsatellite “Raven” will further advance global understanding of wildlife and Earth’s changing environments from space

To the Point

• Launch of Icarus 2.0: The Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the NewSpace company TALOS jointly launched Icarus 2.0 to observe animal movements and environmental change globally from space. The mission is supported by the National Geographic Society.
• First independent satellite in Icarus’s constellation: Raven is set to enable new insights for biodiversity research and conservation: two further launches are planned for 2026, with two more scheduled for spring 2027.
• System of European satellites: Icarus 2.0 guarantees robust, sovereign data availability alongside global coverage, as well as greater efficiency and data frequency than the predecessor system.
• Further Icarus 2.0 project partners: German Space Agency at DLR (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; German Aerospace Center) on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space and EnduroSat, providing the satellite platform and space services for the deployment of the satellite.

With the successful launch of the Raven microsatellite aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, deployed via Germany’s launch integrator Exolaunch, the international initiative Icarus has reached a crucial milestone. The mission marks the beginning of a new, independent European-led space infrastructure—Icarus 2.0—spearheaded by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in collaboration with its technology partner Talos and other partners.

At its core, the pioneering scientific project aims to provide unprecedented insight into wildlife movements and ecosystem dynamics worldwide. By enabling continuous, high-resolution observation of animal behavior and ecological change, Icarus 2.0 opens new possibilities for understanding how ecosystems respond to a rapidly changing planet. The goal is to create an “Internet of Animals” that reveals how ecosystems and climate are changing, and how animals are responding to those changes.

From the ISS to Icarus 2.0

Icarus 2.0 builds on the original ICARUS system, which paved the way for satellite-based research into animal movements worldwide. The first system was developed with the support of the German Space Agency at DLR and was operated from 2020 to 2022 on the International Space Station (ISS) in collaboration with the Russian space agency Roscosmos. After the original Icarus system was discontinued as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Max Planck Society and the German NewSpace company Talos teamed up to develop the next generation of the system.

Talos engineers miniaturized the Icarus system into a 10 x 10 x 10-centimeter payload that can fly on a small satellite known as a CubeSat. The first of these new ICARUS receivers was launched on the “Icarus goes LEO” mission aboard the GENA-OT satellite of the University of the Bundeswehr Munich on November 2025. The University of the Bundeswehr Munich has supported the Icarus initiative from its very beginning. With its Space research center, it hosts the Bundeswehr’s central hub for space research. It also acts as a strategic driver of innovation for dual-use technologies, translating scientific insights into application-oriented and technologically sovereign space solutions in close collaboration with startups, industry partners, and space institutions.

With the Raven mission, Icarus now operates for the first time on its own dedicated satellite. Over the coming months and years, the system will be expanded to at least five independent small satellites run by Talos and the Max Planck Society. Including the receiver on the GENA-OT satellite, there will be six Icarus receivers in low Earth orbit. This constellation will deliver up to six updates per day from animals equipped with lightweight sensors, enabling near real-time observations of their movements and behavior. As a result, data collection will become more robust, frequent, and independent in future, advancing wildlife observation and deepening our understanding of how ecosystems respond to environmental change.

“Icarus 2.0 opens up new possibilities for understanding animal behavior and environmental changes with a level of quality and continuity previously unattainable for research and nature conservation,” emphasizes Icarus project leader Martin Wikelski, who is a Director at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior. “It is precisely the global and regular availability of the data that represents a decisive step forward for research – for instance, to better understand migration, biodiversity, disease outbreaks, natural disasters and ecological changes on a global scale.”

High-performance satellite infrastructure

The scientific mission is led by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, which has been setting standards in satellite-based animal monitoring for years through the Icarus project. As a technology partner, Talos plays a central role in establishing the constellation, designing the mission, managing its operational activities and further developing the tracking technology. Building on this foundation, Talos is increasingly translating the technology into practical applications. The result is a tool that, in addition to global environmental and biodiversity research, opens up new and long-needed opportunities for commercial applications – such as in global agriculture and for tracking livestock in remote regions.

“With Raven, we are launching our own infrastructure for Icarus 2.0 into space for the first time – and with it, a new generation of space-based animal and environmental monitoring,” says Gregor Langer, Co-founder and CEO of Talos. “The successful launch of the first operational satellite demonstrates that Europe is capable of establishing and operating an independent and high-performance satellite infrastructure for global scientific missions within just a few years. This independence is key to maintaining long-term, reliable access to data while preserving technological and operational sovereignty.”

Partnering to advance space-based observation

The project is supported by a strong network of partners. As the manufacturer of the satellite platform, EnduroSat is making a significant contribution to the development of the first satellite and is supporting the deployment of the constellation as an industrial partner. The company’s extensive flight heritage and end-to-end space services accelerate, de-risk and eliminate complexity in the deployment of space infrastructure. The German Space Agency at DLR on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space is overseeing the further development of the Icarus system as a key funding and support partner, thereby helping to facilitate the transition from a scientific mission to a long-term infrastructure that can also be used by public institutions.

The National Geographic Society is also instrumental in supporting the mission: It provides additional support to Raven, thereby enhancing the mission’s international visibility and reach. At the same time, the Icarus technology is to be made available to an international community of researchers and conservation projects via the National Geographic Society’s global Explorer network.