MSc and phD in Planetary sciences

BSc in Geosciences

Winter semester

“The Outer Solar System” (Lecture and Seminar)

“Chemistry for the Planetary Sciences” (Lecture and Seminar)

“Laboratory Methods for the Analysis of Planetary Materials” (Lecture and Seminar)

Summer semester

“Active Bodies in the Solar System: Exploring Asteroids, Comets and Moons through Cosmic Dust” (Lecture and Seminar)

Geochemistry of ocean worlds; Astrobiology; Radiation Chemistry; Mass Spectrometry; Analogue Research; Affiliate science team member of the SUDA instrument on Europa Clipper

Khawaja, N., Postberg, F., O'Sullivan, T., Napoleoni, M., … & Srama, R. (2025) Detection of Organic Compounds in Freshly Ejected Ice Grains from Enceladus’s Ocean. Nature Astronomy.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02655-y.

Craddock M. L., Sekine, Y., Napoleoni, M. et al. (2025) Laboratory simulations of organic synthesis in Enceladus: Implications for the origin of organic matter in the plume. Icarus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116836.

Kempf, S., and 75 co-authors incl. Napoleoni, M., (2025). SUDA: A SUrface Dust Analyser for compositional mapping of the Galilean moon Europa. Space Science Reviews, 221(1), 10.

Napoleoni, M., Hortal, L., Khawaja, N., Abel, B., Glein, C., Hillier, J.K., & Postberg, F. (2024) Probing the Oxidation State of Ocean Worlds with SUDA: Fe (II) and Fe (III) in Ice Grains. The Planetary Science Journal. 5(4), 95.

Khawaja, N., Hortal, L., O’Sullivan, T., Bloema, J., Napoleoni, M., ... & Postberg, F. A Novel Approach to Identify Hydrothermally Processed Oligopeptides in Enceladus Ice Grains with Mass Spectrometry. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. 382(2273), 20230201.

Klenner, F., and 23 co-authors incl. Napoleoni, M. (2024). Icy ocean worlds-astrobiology research in Germany. Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, 11, 1422898.

Bouquet, A., and 18 co-authors incl. Napoleoni, M. Energetic Sulfur Implantation Into Water Ice With Alkanes: Implications for Organic Chemistry on the Surface of Europa. The Planetary Science Journal. 5(4), 102.

Napoleoni, M., Klenner, F., Khawaja, N., Hillier, J. K., & Postberg, F. (2023a). Mass Spectrometric Fingerprints of Organic Compounds in NaCl-Rich Ice Grains from Europa and Enceladus. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, 7(4), 735-752.

Napoleoni, M., Klenner, F., Hortal, L., Khawaja, N., Hillier, J. K., Gudipati, M., Hand, K., Kempf, S., & Postberg, F. (2023b). Mass Spectrometric Fingerprints of Organic Compounds in Sulfate-Rich Ice Grains: Implications for Europa Clipper. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, 7(9), 1675-1693.

Dannenmann, M., Klenner, F., Bönigk, J., Pavlista, M., Napoleoni, M., ... & Postberg, F. (2023). Toward Detecting Biosignatures of DNA, Lipids, and Metabolic Intermediates from Bacteria in Ice Grains Emitted by Enceladus and Europa. Astrobiology, 23(1), 60-75.

Khawaja, N., Hillier, J., Klenner, F., Nölle, L., Zou, Z., Napoleoni, M., ... & Postberg, F. (2022). Complementary Mass Spectral Analysis of Isomeric O-Bearing Organic Compounds and Fragmentation Differences Through Analog Techniques for Spaceborne Mass Spectrometers. The Planetary Science Journal, 3(11), 254.

Bönigk, J., Pavlista, M., Klenner, F., Napoleoni, M., Hillier, J., Khawaja, N., Dannenmann, M., Klauck, E., Abel, B., Olsson-Francis, K., and Postberg, F. (2021) Analogue experiments for the detection of bacterial biosignatures in ice grains relevant to ocean worlds. EPSC Abstracts Vol.15, EPSC2021-277 (held online).

McAdam, A. C., C. N. Achilles, D. M. Bower, C. B. Fishman, M. Millan, S. S. Johnson, M. Napoleoni et al. (2021) "Investigation of a Mars-Analog Basaltic Subsurface Lava Tube Environment." LPI Contributions 2595: 8074 (held online).

Musilova, M., McAdam, A.C., Richardson, J.A., Young, K., Bleacher, J.E., Achilles, C., Bower, D.M., Fishman, C., Johnson, S., Millan, M. and Napoleoni, M. (2021) Lunar and Martian Lava Tube Research Simulation at HI-SEAS. In Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (No. 2548, p. 2600) (held online).

Napoleoni, M., Klenner, F., Hillier, J., Khawaja, N., Hand, K., and Postberg, F. (2021) Analogue experiments for the identification of organics in ice grains from Europa using mass spectrometry. EPSC Abstracts Vol.15, EPSC2021-494 (held online).

Klenner, F., Napoleoni, M., Bönigk, J., Pavlista, M., Hillier, J., Khawaja, N., Dannenmann, M., Klauck, E., Abel, B., Olsson-Francis, K., and Postberg, F. (2021) Detecting microbial biosignatures in ice grains from Europa and Enceladus using mass spectrometry. Goldschmidt, Abstract ID 6922, Lyon, France (held online).

Pavlista, M., Bönigk, J., Klenner, F., Napoleoni, M., Hillier, J., Khawaja, N., Dannenmann, M., Klauck, E., Abel, B., Olsson-Fancis, K., and Postberg, F. (2021) Experiments for the detection of microbial biosignatures in ice grains from Europa and Enceladus. EGU General Assembly (held online).

Millan, M., Napoleoni, M., McAdam, A., Bower, D. M., Knudson, C. A., Achilles, C., ... & Johnson, S. (2020) Organic Characterization of Mauna Loa Lava Tubes, Hawaii, as Analogs for Mars: Implications for Martian Habitability and Exploration. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts (Vol. 2020, pp. P059-05).

Chatain, A., Carrasco, N., Guaitella, O., Napoleoni, M., Vettier, L., & Cernogora, G. (2018) Experimental study of ammonia formation in Titan’s ionosphere. In European Planetary Science Congress. EPSC Abstracts Vol. 12.