Intern in the ExPeRT Mars Exploration Studies Team

The Intern in the ExPeRT Mars Exploration Studies Team position is an internship in ESA’s Human and Robotic Exploration Directorate.

• Location: ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands.

Our team and mission

The Mars Exploration Studies Team in ESA’s Human and Robotic Exploration Directorate is tasked with formulating future Mars missions. This is done in coordination with relevant stakeholders and specialists within ESA, selected definition teams and with external stakeholders in the Member States and Associates, including industry and the science and instrument development communities. The Mars Exploration Studies Team is currently engaged in parallel mission studies and technology developments for ESA’s future missions to Mars (beyond the Rosalind Franklin rover mission planned for launch in 2028). These encompass elements of infrastructure around Mars for communications and navigation support, measurements needed to address knowledge gaps for future exploration, remote sensing from Mars orbit and in situ measurements from the martian surface. The team is a small, dynamic and multidisciplinary grouping within the ExPeRT (Exploration Preparation, Research and Technology) division. Part of the team’s work is to track the potential and proposed payload equipment, which needs to meet the desired technology readiness, resources, and technical and operational interfaces with the spacecraft.

Field(s) of activity for the internship

You will work in close coordination with the Mars exploration payload systems engineer, the Directorate’s scientific support for Mars exploration, and Definition Teams for Mars lander Science and Instrumentation. You will support tracking and elaboration of the information provided by the definition teams as it is used iteratively with mission studies, to help define a set of properly-margined payload resource (mass, power, volume, data, etc.) allocations, interfaces and operational concepts. You will support MarsX in generation of a first issue of a Payload Definition Document, which helps formalise the instructions to industry for studying the mission at Phase A level. You have an opportunity to broaden your knowledge of payload instruments and the technical aspects of their interfaces and operations.

Behavioural competencies

• Result Orientation
• Operational Efficiency
• Fostering Cooperation
• Relationship Management
• Continuous Improvement
• Forward Thinking

Education

You must be a university student, preferably in your final or second-to-last year of university course at Master's level. In addition, you must be able to prove that you will be enrolled at your university for the entire duration of the internship.

Additional requirements

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another ESA Member State language is an asset.

Knowledge and background in multiple engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, thermal, digital, etc.) is an asset.

During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests.

Applicants must be eligible to access information, technology, and hardware which is subject to European or US export control and sanctions regulations.

Nationality

Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.