Our team and mission

ESA maintains a world-leading Science Programme with missions in heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics and fundamental physics. Its mission is to 'empower Europe to lead space science'. The Department for Science and Operations hosts the scientists and engineers that oversee the space missions, from study to end of operations. It develops the science operation systems for the missions and operates the missions in space, as well as archiving and curating their data during operations and beyond. Our main objective is to maximise the scientific output of the missions for the benefit of humankind.

BepiColombo is Europe's first mission to Mercury. Launched on 20 October 2018, it is on a seven-year journey to the smallest and least explored terrestrial planet of our Solar System. It will arrive in 2025 and will provide the most comprehensive view of Mercury, shedding light not only on its composition and history, but also on the formation and evolution of the inner planets.

The JUpiter ICy moon Explorer (JUICE) is the first large-class mission in ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015–2025 programme. Planned for launch in 2023 and arrival at Jupiter in 2031, it will spend at least four years making detailed observations of Jupiter and three of its largest moons, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. 

You are encouraged to visit the ESA website: http://www.esa.int and BepiColombo website: https://cosmos.esa.int/web/bepicolombo

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

The goal of this project is to develop an information system that provides researchers with the information required to fully exploit the upcoming data sets of the BepiColombo and JUICE missions. As this is the first time a system like this would be implemented, you will have considerable scope to innovate and have an impact on the data analysis of these two space projects. The analysis of the data will begin in 2026 for BepiColombo and in 2031 for JUICE. The first BepiColombo measurements during cruise are already available for analysis, while the first JUICE data will be available after launch in 2023. 

Examples of these resources are the 3D model of the spacecraft, spacecraft design information, physical properties of the spacecraft surfaces (to compute the spacecraft electrical charging), the list of scientific publications of reference, environment models of interest (including magnetosphere, exosphere and ionosphere), specific tools for, among other things, data visualisation, processing and analysis, as well as the space weather context and tutorial videos.

Currently, the information system is planned to take the form of a website. However, part of the project will consist in evaluating whether a different medium would be more suited to attaining the project goal and to the analyses of the BepiColombo and JUICE data.

As a Young Graduate Trainee, you will be under the supervision of the BepiColombo and JUICE Project Scientists. Your activities will include the:

• review and understanding of the requirements for the information system; 
• proposal of implementation scenarios (such as a website);
• collection of the relevant resources;  
• implementation of a pilot project for BepiColombo and JUICE.

Technical competencies

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation

Operational Efficiency

Fostering Cooperation

Relationship Management

Continuous Improvement

Forward Thinking

Education

You should have just completed or be in the final year of your master’s degree in a technical or scientific discipline.

Additional requirements

You should have good interpersonal and communication skills and should be able to work in a multicultural environment, both independently and as part of a team.

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.

During the interview, your motivation and overall professional career goals will also be explored.