Internship Opportunity in the Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration Programmes.
ESA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to achieving diversity within the workforce and creating an inclusive working environment. We therefore welcome applications from all qualified candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics. Applications from women are encouraged.
Location Porz-Wahn
Our team and mission
This position will be located at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC)
The โSpaceship EACโ initiative is investigating low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) technologies for supporting the future cislunar space mission as well as surface activities on the Moon as part of the Exploration Preparation, Research and Technology (ExPeRT) team. This multidisciplinary, innovation-driven team composed by researchers, graduate and undergraduate students is based at the ESA European Astronaut Centre (EAC). The mission statement of โSpaceship EACโ is centered on three main pillars: enhance, enable and inspire. The founding idea behind this initiative is indeed to enhance the capabilities of EAC via exploiting the spaceflight experience of the centre to develop and validate new operational concepts and valuable technologies in support of lunar human exploration scenarios. A pragmatic and research focused approach is adopted, and knowledge acquired is disseminated within ESA, partners and the relevant scientific community.
Additionally the Spaceship team is involved in supporting the development of our new LUNA facility at EAC. This facility will serve as a central hub for lunar exploration preparations at ESA and DLR. It features a 700 sqm lunar surface testbed, facilitating the development and validation of operational concepts, astronaut training, and technology demonstrations for Moon exploration. Additionally, the facility will showcase elements of an analogue Moon base, such as a habitat/laboratory module, and a regenerative energy system among others.
We are continually looking for innovative applicants with skills or interests in these areas to join the Spaceship EAC team. An outline of some of the projects that we have recently been progressing can be found at the ESA blog.
For more information on Spaceship EAC internships, please look at the Spaceship EAC blog
For further information visit our web site: http://www.esa.int
Field(s) of activity for the internship
You can choose between the following topics:
1)Topic 1: Spaceship EAC
Spaceship EAC โ our team is always on the lookout for talented and motivated persons to join our projects and contribute to ESAโs exploration activities.
The main areas into which the initiative is currently active are:
โข Energy production and storage
โข Radiation shielding
โข In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)
โข VR/AR technologies for exploration
โข Embedded systems and IoT
โข Exercise hardware and countermeasure concepts
โข Machine learning for exploration
โข Robotics and human factors
โข Conceptual illustration/design
2) Topic 2: Supporting LUNA Analogue Facility Utilisation Scenarios
The team member will support the definition of early utilisation scenarios within LUNA, in coordination with the LUNA project team, and detail their planning, such as the operations of rovers within the LUNA hall, the facilitation of Spaceship teams utilisation and initial EVA operations. Furthermore, the team member will support the adaptation and/or development EVA tools and their integration into the operational concepts of the LUNA facility.
3) Topic 3: LUNA Facility Habitat Development Support
This topic will focus on supporting the development and integration of initial elements of the analogue Moon base around LUNA, including design, planning, interface definition, and operational concept development. The team member will support the final preparations and early outfitting of the LUNA hall and the regolith testbed, with a particular focus on the logistics around the regolith filling and initial surface modelling to resemble lunar polar exploration areas.
Behavioural competencies
Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking
Education
You must have student status and be enrolled at university for the entire duration of the internship. You should preferably be in your final or second to last year of a university course at masterโs level in a technical or scientific discipline.
Additional requirements
The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.
Additional requirements:
1) Topic 1:
Knowledge and background in the topical areas presented for Spaceship EAC is required. When applying for this topic, please identify which project area your background is best aligned with.
2) Topic 2:
Knowledge and background in aerospace engineering, geosciences and materials are considered an asset.
3) Topic 3:
Knowledge and background in engineering, architecture, civil/construction engineering, materials and construction are required.
Other information
For behavioural competencies expected from ESA staff in general, please refer to the ESA Competency Framework.
If you require support with your application due to a disability, please email contact.human.resources@esa.int.
Internships can take place remotely, on-site or partially on-site depending on the pandemic situation, and in line with the relevant Establishmentโs policy (e.g. possible Green Pass requirement) applicable at the time of starting the internship.
Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Nationals from Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia, as Associate Member States, or Canada as a Cooperating State, can apply as well as those from Bulgaria and Cyprus as European Cooperating States (ECS).