The giant planets

This year, the summer school will be held from 24 July to 2 August and will focus on the theme “Exploration of the giant planets and their systems". Applications should be submitted before 31 March, 2012.

Held annually since 1975, the Alpbach Summer School enjoys a long tradition in providing in-depth teaching on different topics of space science and technology with the aim of advancing the training and working experience of European graduates, post-graduate students, young scientists and engineers.

The purpose of the summer school is to foster the practical application of knowledge derived from lectures, to develop organisational and team-work skills and to encourage creativity. Teams will compete to design the best project, judged by an independent jury of experts. The teams themselves are responsible for the selection of the subject of the project and for the team structure and working methods.

The Summer School Alpbach 2012 will address innovative mission concepts to the giant planets of the outer Solar System (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune). Each of these planets can be regarded as a system with its own environment, satellites, rings and magnetosphere. The lectures will cover the many different aspects of these planetary systems as well as an overview over current space missions and techniques aimed at their exploration.

The selected summer school students will meet great challenges, such as in real life. These include 20-hour working days, sudden immersion into new competence fields and techniques, as well as the challenge of forming and working together as a team, with scientists listening to engineers and engineers listening to scientists. However, on day ten, the reward will be the students’ proposal for a unique space mission.

How to apply

The Alpbach Summer School

The summer school is open to 60 selected young science and engineering students and graduates from among the Member and Cooperating states of ESA*. The working language will be English.

Applications should be submitted online via the Alpbach Summer School website to the Aeronautics and Space Agency of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) before 31 March 2012. Confirmation of acceptance will be given by the end of April 2012.

A registration fee of €400 will be charged, but participants may be eligible for financial support from their national sponsoring agencies or universities. Registration forms and further information are available on the Alpbach Summer School website.

The Alpbach Summer School is organised by the Aeronautics and Space Agency of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG). It is co-sponsored by ESA and the national space authorities of its Member and Cooperating States, with the support of the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) and Austrospace. The Summer School 2012 will benefit by the participation of the Europlanet Research Infrastructure (EUROPLANET RI), a project funded by the European Community under the Capacities chapter of the Seventh Framework Programme.