Between 1973 and 1984 work was undertaken in partnership with Spanish Authorities to develop and from the German-Spanish Astronomical Centre (DSAZ), which is situated on the Calar Alto Mountain in Spain and is the largest facility within Europe. The MPIA is currently involved in the construction of the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) and its control equipment that is situated high up on Mount Graham in the US. The LBT is the world’s largest telescope with two mirrors each with a diameter of 8.4m.

This programme has been developed in collaboration with partners from Germany, Italy and the USA. The MPIA is also involved in the programme development of both the very large telescope (VLT) on Cerro Paranal in Chile. The institute is active in the world of astronomical observations from space with the use of rockets, space probes, balloons and satellites. Currently the development of new measuring instruments for both the European Herschel Telescope and the James Webb Space telescope are ongoing along with observational programmes based on the American Spitzer Telescope are also currently being supported closely by the MPIA.