Intern in the Exploration Technologies for Human Spaceflight

Our team and mission

The Directorate of Human and Robotic Exploration (D/HRE) is the main ESA entity in charge of supporting and coordinating efforts towards the current and the future endeavours of human spaceflight. The exploration activities are part of the strategic plans in securing a central role for Europe with respect to the global initiatives. The European Exploration Envelope Programme (E3P) is integrating the ESA activities in this field to ensure a single exploration process. The strategy includes three destinations where humans will work with robots to gather new knowledge: Low Earth Orbit (LEO), the Moon, and Mars.

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.

Within Spaceship EAC, we have a number of fields where we carry out different projects. These fields are:

• Demonstrating disruptive technologies such as Virtual/Augmented Reality, collaborative robotics and their potential use cases for exploration;
• Investigating novel concepts in the domain of Space Resources/In-Situ Resource Utilisation, to enable sustainable human exploration;
• Using advanced manufacturing methodologies, such as additive manufacturing, for projects within the centre and for space exploration;
• Supporting the development of the LUNA analogue test facility at EAC;
• Developing new ideas around medical technologies, for example, using machine learning techniques to support long term exploration;
• Topics related to ‘off world living’, e.g. human factors, design and concept illustration;
• Crew Health and Performance Technologies and Knowledge build up.

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 (Spaceship EAC – ESA –Exploration).

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic of the internship: Spaceship EAC/LUNA Utilisation: “The M-Wall” as a potential exercise countermeasure for sustained Lunar surface operations

The team member will support the the “M-Wall” project which seeks to explore feasibility and efficacy of horizontal running in Lunar gravity to mitigate musculoskeletal and cardiovascular deconditioning during sustained human Lunar surface operations. 1. Background and Rationale The M-Wall concept represents a novel approach to counteracting musculoskeletal deconditioning during long-duration spaceflight. Simulating high-speed locomotion in a curved-wall environment, the M-Wall aims to replicate impact forces and loading patterns critical for maintaining lower limb and postural integrity in microgravity. Initial torque-driven musculoskeletal (MSK) simulations have shown promising biomechanical outputs, including joint kinetics relevant to knee and hip extensor loading. However, to fully understand its efficacy and inform design, further refinement of the model and its comparisons with terrestrial analogs are required.

2. Objective
This internship will expand the current MSK model by implementing a muscle-driven approach to simulate co-contractions and more physiologically accurate muscle actions. Additionally, it will explore more appropriate terrestrial equivalents for benchmarking, and evaluate the influence of M-Wall radius on biomechanical outputs.

3. Methodology

• Transition the existing torque-driven simulations to a muscle-driven framework using OpenSim or similar software.
• Incorporate muscle activation dynamics to study co-contraction patterns and refine joint force estimates.
• Perform simulations across varying M-Wall radii to assess their effect on gait mechanics, ground reaction forces (GRFs), and internal joint loading.
• Identify and model comparable terrestrial locomotion strategies (e.g. curved treadmill, sprint cycling) to contextualize M-Wall biomechanics.
• Analyze outcomes using established biomechanical metrics (e.g. duty factor, joint net moments, energy expenditure).

4. Expected Outcomes

• A validated muscle-driven MSK model for the M-Wall environment.
• Quantitative insights into muscle contributions, joint loading, and potential co-contraction patterns.
• A set of biomechanical benchmarks comparing M-Wall running to Earth-based analogs.
• Design recommendations regarding optimal M-Wall curvature to maximize strain on musculoskeletal tissues.
• A publication in an international peer reviewed science journal.

5. Relevance
Understanding and optimizing artificial gravity and locomotion countermeasures is critical for future lunar and Martian missions. This project directly supports ESA’s efforts to mitigate deconditioning in reduced gravity and contributes to habitat and system design for long-term human space exploration.

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 in your final or second-to-last year of a university course at Master’s level and you need to remain 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 Member State language would be an asset.

Knowledge and background in exercise science, biomechanics, exercise physiology and/or human movement science are considered an asset.

Additional skills required:

• Advanced biomechanical knowledge;
• Advanced human biomechanical modelling knowledge;
• Knowledge of Inverse Human Dynamics;
• Advanced coding skills in Matlab and/or Python.