Our team and mission

The Argonaut is the vehicle that will deliver a campaign comprising multiple exploration missions to the Moon throughout the 2030s as part of Terrae Novae (E3P). Some missions may be ESA contributions to the NASA-led Artemis programme, while others may be purely European or undertaken in partnership with other global space agencies. Discussions are under way with NASA to have the Argonaut missions undertaken as part of Artemis recognised by the US partner as also contributing to one or more European astronauts to travel to the Moon’s surface on US human landers.

Each Argonaut mission will use a recurring element, the Lander Descent Element (LDE). The LDE will be compatible with very different specific missions such as logistic cargo support to Artemis, infrastructure deployment such as charging station, and science at the south pole or even on the far side at the equator. It will take advantage of the potential Moonlight Lunar Communications and Navigation Services (LCNS). 

The definition of the Argonaut generic vehicle and mission, essentially the LDE, has recently completed its System Requirements Review and is currently under preliminary design with the Preliminary Design Review planned for mid 2026.

The Argonaut team is composed of members from across Europe with expertise in all aspects of spacecraft management, design, assembly, testing and operations. As part of the system team the selected applicant will interact with the team across all domains.

Candidates interested are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int  

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: System Engineering for Argonaut

In this internship, you will play a crucial role in maintaining the system budgets and the overall coherence of the Argonaut Lander development. The work you do will directly contribute to the planning and execution of the Argonaut Lander, providing you with hands-on experience in the field of space systems engineering.
 

Key Activities:

1. System Budget Management:
   • Coordination of the Power Budget in support of the Lead Power engineer and lead system Engineer;
   • Coordination of the Mass Budgets in support of the Lead System Engineer;
   • Generation of a MBSE based tool to manage other budgets including pointing, Telemetry, Propellant, GNC.
2. Support the Lead System Engineer:
   
   • Collaborate with teams to define and manage system and interface requirements;
   • Ensure all requirements are linked to the model, maintaining traceability.
3. Support Engineering Processes:
   
   • Support the Lead system Engineer with the Engineering Change Board.
4. Collaboration and Documentation:
   • Work with multidisciplinary teams and document your work.

During this internship, you will gain hands-on experience in systems engineering, focusing on system budget management. You will strengthen your ability to collaborate with diverse teams and enhance your skills in creating and validating complex system models for space missions.

Behavioural competencies

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

For more information, please refer to ESA Core Behavioural Competencies guidebook

Education

You must be a university student, preferably studying 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.

During the interview, your motivation for applying to this role will be explored.

Knowledge and background in system engineering particularly with Model Based System Engineering tools is an asset.