Intern in the Space Safety Programme - Planetary Defence Office - Assessing Flyeye Telescope Survey

European Space Agency; Frascati; On-site; EUR 8,900 - 13,000; Full time

Job summary

European Space Agency (ESA) invites university students to join the Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre observers team in Frascati, contributing to the Flyeye network's simulation and planning. You will adapt Sorcha, a survey simulator, to model Flyeye-1 and Flyeye-2, collaborating with LSST experts to refine observing strategies and network operation.

The internship provides hands-on experience with an open-source tool used by planetary defence and astronomy communities, plus exposure to

Qualifications

• You must be a university student, preferably in your final or second-to-last year of your Master’s degree.
• Enrollment at your university for the entire duration of the internship is required.

Responsibilities

• Review the architecture of the survey simulator and its LSST use.
• Build a Flyeye-specific configuration including telescope parameters, cadence, field footprint, and network geometry.
• Characterise the network's discovery performance.
• Run comparative simulations to test observing strategies (depth vs. sky coverage).
• Assess how Flyeye's coverage could best complement LSST.
• Model how Flyeye units can be operated together.

Skills

Python

Orbital mechanics

Data visualization

Scripting languages

Statistical analysis

Education

Master's degree in astronomy/astrophysics

Tools

NumPy

Pandas

Astropy

Job description

Location
ESRIN, Frascati, Italy

Our team and mission

The ESA Space Safety Department takes care of all potential hazards and threats from space or in space, which can impact human activities, infrastructure, or related applications. The spectrum of tasks ranges from gathering the basic understanding of space hazards originating from our Sun, from human space debris, or from asteroids potentially colliding with the Earth. It also addresses basic approaches to mitigate these hazards and to implement space systems end-to-end in a sustainable and eco-compatible way. Moreover, several corner stone missions are underway to demonstrate basic methods of space weather forecasting, asteroid deflection and active space debris removal from orbit.

In execution of these tasks, the Space Safety Department has the following entities:

• Mission Implementation Division (OPS-SM);
• COSMIC Project Management Office (OPS-SC);
• Space Weather Office (OPS-SW);
• Planetary Defence Office (OPS-SP);
• Space Debris Office (OPS-SD);
• Clean Space & Circular Economy Office (OPS-SY);
• Frequency Management Office (OPS-SF);
• Programme Coordination Office (OPS-SX).

The Planetary Defence Office (PDO) is addressing the “…prediction and detection [of] the potential impact of a near-Earth object”. Concerning the information needs for NEO monitoring, the following are defined:

• knowledge of the current and future positions of all NEO objects above a given size threshold or risk level, in particular their minimum fly-by distance to the Earth and time of this event;
• maintain awareness of collision risks with the Earth;
• access to verifiable, dependable, timely data with integrity and known accuracy.

The top-level Office tasks are:
1. Issue NEO impact warnings and news releases.
2. Provide direct access to data in the NEO database.
3. Provide access to data in the NEO database available only via registration.
4. Perform additional observations.
5. Provide high priority information.
6. Provide educational and outreach material.
7. Provide user tools.

The PDO is structured along three vertical pillars differentiating following activity area:

• observation;
• information provision;
• mitigation.

You can see following domains of the department's expertise:

• ground Station Engineering;
• flight Dynamics and Mission Analysis;
• mission Operations Data Systems Engineering;
• navigation Support;
• multi-Mission Infrastructure – Ground Segment Integration and Testing.

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

You will join the observers team at the Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre, contributing to work that helps shape how one of Europe's planetary defence assets is used. The Flyeye network will be the first European telescope survey network dedicated to searching for imminently impacting near-Earth objects, combining multiple telescope units to scan the sky for asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth. The first unit, Flyeye-1, is currently being commissioned, and a second unit, Flyeye-2, has passed its Critical Design Review and will shortly join the network.

You will engage with Sorcha, an open-source, modular survey simulator originally developed for the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), and adapt it to model the Flyeye network. Using this tool, you will explore how current discovery-rate predictions compare against real performance data, whether the network should prioritise depth or width in its observing strategy, how well Flyeye complements LSST's own coverage, and how best to operate Flyeye-1 and Flyeye-2 together, a configuration that has not previously been simulated.

Your activities will include:

• reviewing the architecture of the survey simulator and its existing use for LSST;
• building a Flyeye-specific configuration covering telescope parameters, cadence, field footprint and network geometry;
• characterising the network's discovery performance;
• running comparative simulations to test different observing strategies, such as prioritising survey depth versus sky coverage;
• assessing how Flyeye's coverage could best complement that of LSST;
• modelling how the network's telescope units can best be operated together.

Depending on your interests, there may also be scope to extend the project, for example by investigating how best to scale exposure time to adapt to sky background conditions, or by evaluating Heliolink, a tracklet-linking approach, and its applicability to Flyeye data.

Through this internship, you will gain hands‑on experience with a simulation tool used across the wider planetary defence and astronomy community, direct exposure to how survey strategy decisions are made operationally, and the opportunity to contribute to the planning of Europe's next‑generation planetary defence network. You will also have the opportunity to collaborate with members of the LSST team.

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 university course 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.

Additional requirements:

• A degree track in astronomy, astrophysics, physics, planetary science, or a related field;
• solid Python programming skills, including working with scientific libraries (numpy, pandas, astropy);
• basic familiarity with orbital mechanics / solar system dynamics;
• comfortable working with large datasets; running and interpreting simulations;
• familiarity with near‑Earth object science or planetary defence concepts is an asset;
• experience with data visualisation and statistical analysis is an asset;
• ability to work independently on an open‑ended research question;
• you shall have a good knowledge of a scripting/programming language (preferably Python);
• background in celestial mechanics, is a valuable asset for this role.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness
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, religious beliefs, age, disability or other characteristics.

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 via email at [e-mail].

Important Information and Disclaimer
During the recruitment process, the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests.

The information published on ESA’s careers website regarding internship conditions is correct at the time of publication. It is not intended to be exhaustive and may not address all questions you would have.

Nationality

Please note that applications are only considered from nationals of one of the following States: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Applicants from Canada as a Cooperating State can apply as well as those from Bulgaria, Croatia and Malta as European Cooperating States (ECS).