Space Medicine

Based at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC), ESA’s Space Medicine Team comprises medical doctors, biomedical engineers, exercise physiologists, psychologists, IT specialists, education coordinators, administrators and project managers. Each plays a vital role in ensuring the health and well-being of astronauts during all stages of a mission.

To better support astronauts during current missions to the International Space Station and prepare for human missions beyond low Earth orbit, the Space Medicine Team is working to identify, evaluate and develop new space technologies and procedures.

This process involves collaborating with ESA’s technology teams and Human Research Office to identify existing space-relevant technologies and scientific knowledge, and looking outside of ESA at terrestrial technology developments and the wealth of current science knowledge concerning human health.

To achieve their goal, the Space Medicine Team works in close partnership with national space agencies, industry, research institutions and universities from across ESA’s Member States. The team also regularly coordinate workshops for the next generation of space physicians.

Find out more about ESA’s research into human health here.

Internship opportunities

The Space Medicine Team offers a limited number of internship places each year to students of medicine, the biomedical sciences (including exercise science) or biomedical, electrical, mechanical and data/software engineering and – where appropriate – those with specific expertise relevant to a project.

Our internship projects may involve the collection and/or the analysis of medical/research data, performance of systematic literature reviews, elements of medical hardware evaluation/development, database management, or the generation of analytical models/simulations.

Whilst internships within the Space Medicine Team are defined in each call based on current priorities, projects in the recent past have included the following domains:

• Identification and evaluation of medical risks (including radiation) associated with Low Earth Orbit and Deep Space vehicles/habitats.
• Optimisation of in-flight exercise countermeasures (for ISS and Exploration).
• Evaluation and optimisation of non-exercise management of astronaut health.
• Identification, development, validation and implementation of medical technologies and strategies to mitigate medical risks associated with spaceflight.
• Optimisation of post-flight rehabilitation strategies.
• Evaluation of the suitability and applicability of ground-based analogues of micro- and hypogravity.
• Identification and evaluation of medical risks and requirements associated with hypogravity (lunar) operations.

Students of medicine should note that the Space Medicine Team is not a conventional clinical environment, and that due to the highly confidential nature of our flight surgeons’ activities, it is not possible to involve students in day-to-day astronaut medical support.

The minimum duration of an internship with the Space Medicine Team is three months. However, full six-month internships are considered optimal. 

Applications are currently closed.

Interested students are asked to familiarise themselves with the general terms and conditions of ESA internships here.