Intern in the Ground Systems Engineering and Innovation Department, Lunar Crater Dataset Analysis

Location

ESOC Darmstadt Germany

Our team and mission

You will be part of the Mission Analysis Section Flight Dynamics Division Ground Systems Engineering Department.

The Mission Analysis Section is entrusted with mission studies for future terrestrial lunar and interplanetary missions as well as scientific missions located in planetary or lunar libration points. The emphasis is typically on trajectory and attitude related aspects and on supporting ground segment design and operations. This includes trade-offs for selection of the nominal mission trajectory definition of maneuvering strategies optimization of orbital manoeuvres (low- and high-thrust propulsion including rocket ascent trajectories) calculation of propellant budget analysis of launch window analysis of orbit perturbations and navigation. The task also includes the development of the necessary analytical and numerical methods and software tools.

Candidates interested are encouraged to visit the ESA website :

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Internship topic : Lunar Crater Dataset Analysis and Database Generation

In 2031 ESAs Argonaut lander will provide Europe independent access to the lunar surface. One of the many challenges connected to Moon landings is the vast amount of craters of all scales. Especially in the landing region a reliable detection of them is required in order to navigate to a safe landing site and to avoid them as hazards during the landing process. AI-based networks seem to be a very promising candidate to solve this challenge at least for the a-priori analysis. However as for any AI application a ground truth training data set is the ESA IMPACT project a lunar base building game was developed and published which combined gaming crowd science and space exploration by integrating crater marking in lunar satellite images into the gameplay. As of today the result comprises over 10 million crater markings by the players making it the biggest existing lunar crater database.

While first tests of using the dataset to train an AI have already started the need for investigating the data with respect to several quality parameters becomes obvious.

You shall work on this dataset to maximise its potential for lunar landing application AI applications and for scientists around the globe since such a dataset can enable research way beyond mission analysis needs. For this the dataset needs to be analyised further since unfortunately not all players have marked all craters in an images and not all markings are correct.

The task for this traineeship is to prepare best-practise guidelines and software script to post-process and filter the initial lunar crater dataset. Your initial tasks would include :

• familiarise yourself with the game and the dataset.
• familiarise yourself with the AI algorithms state of the art for crater detection.
• generate an overview of available meta data in coordination with the game developers.
• identify potential use cases in the science community and document their requirements.
• write filter and other post-processing scripts (Python) to eliminate misleading / useless data parts.
• document post-processing guidelines to be published along with the dataset.
• propose smart algorithms to be used by the game to improve marking quality : e.g. identify super users compare user results majority voting use images under different lighting conditions and compare markings etc..

Once the dataset can be reliably used you shall try to expand the lunar crater database to other regions of the moon using e.g. the trained AI algorithms.

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 masters 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.

You should have knowledge in the following fields :

A background in space exploration or geology is considered an asset.

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 .

Important Information and Disclaimer

During the recruitment process the Agency may request applicants to undergo selection tests.

Applicants must be eligible to access information technology and hardware which is subject to European or US export control and sanctions regulations.

The information published on ESAs 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 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.

Required Experience :

Intern

Key Skills

Campaigns,Abinitio,AutoCAD 3D,Hardware & Networking,Customer Support,Arabic

Employment Type : Intern

Experience : years

Vacancy : 1