Young Graduate Trainee in Lunar Dust Contamination Testing

Young Graduate Opportunity in the Directorate of Technology, Engineering and Quality

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.

This post is classified F1 on the Coordinated Organisations’ salary scale .

Location

ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands 

Our team and mission

The Materials’ Physics and Chemistry Section operates state-of-the-art space simulation facilities(vacuum, temperature, EM and particle radiation, etc.), as well as instruments to characterise physical and chemical properties in the materials and EEE components laboratory. It provides quality and engineering support to all ESA projects and development programmes in materials physics and chemistry, associated processes and environmental effects.

Our tasks include:

• Physical analysis and characterisation of materials, including phase transitions thermo-mechanical analysis, thermo-optical analysis, thermal analysis, surface analyses such as electron-based imaging techniques (SEM/EDX/WDX), X-ray techniques, such as X-ray tomography and other non-destructive evaluation techniques;
• Chemical analysis and characterisation of materials (all types of spectroscopy, such as UV-VIS-NIR,GCMS, NMR, FTIR, Raman, thermal analysis, surface analysis such as XPS, EDX, WDX, contact angle);
• Cleanliness and contamination control, including lab work focused on contamination monitoring, materials outgassing characterisation, surface analysis and evaluation of contamination impacts on performance;
• Environmental evaluation (ground/space effects) including lab testing work and support of nonconformance reviews, requests for approval; this includes evaluation of degradation effects due to long- term storage, entry/re-entry assessment of physical/chemical processes and other processes;
• Performance prediction and verification (including in-orbit and post-flight analysis) of materials and associated processes.

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

Field(s) of activity/research for the traineeship

As ESA and its international partners aim to return to the moon and beyond, there are many significant challenges to overcome and one of these is related to the problem of lunar dust contamination.

This can have significant impact on space hardware such as mechanisms, solar cells, cameras, thermal control materials, as well astronauts space suits, as remarked by the Apollo astronauts: 

“… one of the most aggravating, restricting facets of lunar surface exploration is the dust and its adherence to everything no matter what kind of material, whether it be skin, suit material, metal, no matter what it be and it’s restrictive friction-like action to everything it gets on.”

This project will experimentally study the characteristics of lunar dust simulants and measure the adhesion properties on representative materials in a simulated space environment, using unique space environmental testing facilities and analysis instrumentation within the ESTEC Materials and Electrical Components laboratory.

The work will be supported by colleagues within ESA’s Vulcan facility who can assist with simulant selection, and by experts in other sections who are developing theoretical models to predict the adhesion forces and dust coverage on surfaces in representative space environments.

As a Young Graduate Trainee, you will also be expected to be an active member of ESA’s dust contamination working group, and contribute to the on-going work of the ESA dust handbook. 

Some of the activities that can be envisaged are:

• Performing state of the art literature review of lunar dust contamination and effects
• Contributing to the commissioning of a new dust adhesion test facility and development of the associated test methodologies, including preparation of the relevant test procedures
• Defining an experimental test plan for characterisation of the lunar dust simulants and dust adhesion testing on space representative materials
• Implementing the experimental test programme
• Preparing laboratory reports to document the results and compare with theoretical predictions

This is a highly multidisciplinary and active field of study and the trainee will have the opportunity to work with many other groups working on the topic, especially in the Human and Robotic exploration directorate, as well as other technical sections such as mechanisms, thermal control, optics, power generation, robotics, payloads and instrumentation.

Technical competencies

Knowledge of relevant technical domains

Relevant experience gained during internships/project work

Breadth of exposure coming from past and/or current research/activities

Knowledge of ESA and its programmes/projects

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 materials science/engineering, aeronautics, physics or an associated subject.

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 motivation and overall professional perspective/career goals will also be explored.

Other information

For behavioural competencies expected from ESA staff in general, please refer to the ESA Competency Framework .

For further information on the Young Graduate Programme please visit: Young Graduate Programme andFAQ Young Graduate Programme

At the Agency we value diversity and we welcome people with disabilities. Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support at the workplace. The Human Resources Department can also provide assistance during the recruitment process. If you would like to discuss this further please contact us email [email protected] .

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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).

According to the ESA Convention, the recruitment of staff must take into account an adequate distribution of posts among nationals of the ESA Member States*. When short-listing for an interview, priority will first be given to candidates from under-represented Member States *. 

In accordance with the European Space Agency’s security procedures and as part of the selection process, successful candidates will be required to undergo basic screening before appointment conducted by an external background screening service. 

*Member States, Associate Members or Cooperating States.