Heike Rauer

Prof. Dr. Heike Rauer is a Professor at the Institute of Geological Sciences within the Department of Earth Sciences at Free University of Berlin, holding a jointly appointed professorship with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR). She serves as Advisor on ESA matters and maintains her office at Malteserstraße 74-100, Room D-309, Berlin.

Her research focuses on extrasolar planet detection and characterization using space telescopes (transit method) and ground-based observations, exoplanet atmosphere modeling, and investigating habitable conditions for potential extraterrestrial life. She explores early Solar System formation processes to understand Earth's emergence of life. Current leadership roles include Head of the PLATO space telescope instrument consortium (launching 2026) and Principal Investigator for project C5 in the Transregional Collaborative Research Center TRR 170, studying early interior-surface-atmosphere interactions on terrestrial planets.

Prof. Rauer teaches the Exoplanets lecture and exercise course (SoSe 2025), covering planet detection methods, atmospheric composition analysis, habitability metrics, and biosignature identification. Her work bridges observational astronomy, Earth sciences, physics, and astrobiology through interdisciplinary approaches.

Key career milestones include:

• Physics degree (University of Hannover, 1986)
• PhD in cometary plasma tails (University of Göttingen, 1991)
• ESA Research Fellowship at Observatoire de Paris (1995-1997)
• Habilitation at Technical University of Berlin (2004)
• Germany's Co-Investigator for CoRoT mission (2006-2014)
• Member of Rosetta mission's MIRO spectrometer team
• Joining Free University of Berlin (2017)

She actively contributes to the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) at ESO's Paranal Observatory and maintains strong collaborations with ESA, DLR, and international research consortia.