Intern in the Research and Payloads Group

Contract

This is a Internship contract. It usually requires 0 years of experience, depending on education. More about Internship contracts.

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

Noordwijk Our team and mission

This position is based at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) - Noordwijk, Netherlands

The internship will be in the SciSpacE Physical Sciences section, which coordinates the ESA research programme in Physical sciences, using various microgravity platforms including the International Space Station, Moon, and Mars. Projects cover a wide range of Physical Sciences topics like Earth atmospheric measurement, ultraprecise cold atom sensors, quantum information and high-energy particles, soft or complex matter, boiling, evaporation and heat transfer, and advanced materials processing.

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: ISS Electro-Magnetic Levitator Coil Deposition

ESA is operating an electro-magnetic levitator onboard the International Space Station (ISS-EML), which is being used by the materials-science community for thermophysical property measurements of metallic and semiconductor materials in the liquid and undercooled state, as well as for investigations into their solidification mechanisms.

One of the resources that needs to be managed is the dust deposition on the coil, stemming from volatile constituents in the sample materials. As an intern, you will conduct an analysis of the physics-based monitoring procedures for coil deposition and identify possible improvement opportunities.

For more information, please visit: Electromagnetic levitator

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2) Topic 2: Water transport in the Moon subsurface

The permanent human habitation of human on Moon has been considered because of the proximity to the Earth, especially with the discovery of water in the lunar poles. However, the water is stored in porous media (lunar soil) with an average temperature of 40K at the surface. Sublimation of water in Lunar soil, may be able to extract water. Some works have been conducted but the dynamic of water transport in porous media is largely unknown.

The internship will model the dynamic of water extraction porous media in the Moon environment and assess the efficiency of the process.

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3) Topic 3: Exergy analysis for Space-Based Solar Panel

Main limitation of solar energy generation is that solar panels can only generate power during the daytime. Solution could be to collect solar power up in space and beam it down to the surface. SBSP has gained attention in the last ten years. However, there are doubt on the feasibility and relevance of this technology. In your thesis work, you will use the reference mission(s)/process(s) defined at the end of the literature study as a study case.

The goal is to make an Exergy analysis of SBSP. The following tasks should be addressed:

• Draw the exact cycle for the energy generation by SBSP; and derive the exergy
• Compare SBSP and solar panel on Earth, on Moon and Mars
• Based on the above, make a preliminarily assessment of the energy efficiency of SBSP for utilisation on Earth, Moon and Mars

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: This post calls for a MSc graduate level in physics in general and materials science in particular, covering both experimental and modelling/simulation approaches.

2) Topic 2: This post calls for a MSc graduate level in physics with

• Practical knowledge and experience of Modelling tool (Matlab, Python)
• Academic Knowledge of thermodynamic (Energy, Exergy, Enthalpy)

3) Topic 3: This post calls for a MSc graduate level in aerospace engineering or physics with

• Practical knowledge and experience of Modelling tool (Matlab, Python)
• Academic Knowledge of thermodynamic (Energy, Exergy, Enthalpy)

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.

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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, Croatia and Cyprus as European Cooperating States (ECS).