The development of the solar system has been shaped by collisions of cosmic bodies of different size. The collision history of the Solar System is, on the one hand, testified by the heavily cratered surfaces of the terrestrial planets (e.g. Moon, Mars, Mercury), and on the other, primitive meteorites are considered fragments of the earliest stage of planetary evolution.

Research at the Museum für Naturkunde aims at constraining the effect of collision events on the evolution of planets and life (mass extinctions, e.g. dinosaurs). Moreover, we want to obtain a better understanding of the highly dynamic processes and the modifications to minerals and rocks in meteorites and terrestrial rocks, as a result of the extreme pressure and temperature conditions generated during an impact event. Furthermore, the identification and dating of impact structures will contribute to completion of Earth’s impact cratering record, and the reconstruction of crater formation – at all scales - is essential for our grasp on the impact dynamics and material responses.

The methods applied comprise geophysical exploration of the crater subsurface, geological field studies at terrestrial craters, mineralogical and chemical analyses of rocks and minerals, as well as computer simulations and laboratory shock experiments.

• Lithopanspermia - Interplanetary transfer of life
• Numerical modelling of impact processes
  • Planetary collisions: Effects of a giant impact on a planet's evolution.
  • Influences of oblique impacts and topography on crater formation and environmental consequences.
  • Effect of material properties and stratigraphy on crater chronology.
• Mass extinctions by impact events.

• Numerical modeling of impact cratering processes
• Low-grade shock metamorphism of quartz in porous, dry and wet sedimentary rocks 
• On the fate of the projectile in impact cratering experiments