Our team and mission

This position will be located at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC)

The “Spaceship EAC” 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 “Spaceship EAC” 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 – our team is always on the lookout for talented and motivated persons to join our projects and contribute to ESA’s exploration activities.

The main areas into which the initiative is currently active are:

• Energy production and storage
• Radiation shielding
• In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)
• VR/AR technologies for exploration
• Embedded systems and IoT
• Exercise hardware and countermeasure concepts
• Machine learning for exploration
• Robotics and human factors
• 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 master’s 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.