The Institut für Planetologie
The Institut für Planetologie at Universität-Münster was founded in 1986. It is one of the largest planetary geosciences research institutes in Germany with ~50 employees, including professors, research scientists, and students with a wide range of expertise. This expertise covers many aspects of planetary science research, including geological planetology physical and experimental planetology, meteoritics, and analog fieldwork in extreme environments. Labs within the institute allow spectral studies of analog materials in preparation and support of space missions, and host one of the largest meteorite collections in the world. The institute is involved in numerous past, current, and future planetary missions, including the ISS, ESA’s Rosetta, Mars Express, BepiColombo, ExoMars, and JUICE missions. International mission participation includes NASA’s Stardust, Cassini, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and DAWN missions and JAXA’s SELENE/Kaguya and Hayabusa 1 missions. Institute members participate on numerous advisory panels, such as ESA’s HESAC and Lunar Science Definition Team, as well as ESA topical teams for lunar geology, lunar polar, and planetary caves exploration. The Institute thus supports planetary exploration from mission concept, through instrument selection and development, to the analysis of data and the creation of higher level data products.