Detlef Koschny

Detlef Koschny is an Honorary Professor at the Technical University Munich’s Department of Lunar and Planetary Exploration, where he teaches a course on Near-Earth Objects. He previously served at the European Space Agency (ESA), retiring in 2022, and now holds part-time roles as Technical Manager for the ExoMars 2028 mission’s Close-Up Imager (CLUPI) and chairs ESA’s Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG). His research focuses on cosmic dust, meteors, asteroids, and observational techniques, combining ground-based and space-based instrumentation.

Key collaborations include work with the University of Oldenburg on meteor data analysis and the TU Munich’s Space Technology Chair on near-Earth object studies. He contributes to lunar impact flash missions (NELIOTA, LUMIO) and has extensive experience with ESA missions like Rosetta, BepiColombo, and ExoMars. Technical roles span instrument co-investigations (CLUPI, Rosetta’s OSIRIS camera) and mission planning (MoonNEXT, AIM).

His professional network includes the Space Exploration Institute (Switzerland) and ESA’s Planetary Defence Office (neo.ssa.esa.int). Teaching and outreach activities complement his research, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches for engineers and physicists.