DARA faces a growing interest of the scientific community in space research for small missions. Small missions are understood to be projects of short time scales in the realisation and mission phase and at low costs. The space vehicle is considered to be a small satellite of some hundred kg's. The German Space Agency has initiated a program line for projects of this type. A series of proposals from the fields of astronomy, solar physics and atmospheric research has already been submitted to DARA for assessment. The paper will provide a description of the German approach for small satellites, describe candidate missions, and outline the ideas for their realisation.