Stay ahead of the storm: understand the fundamentals of space weather with ESA
In brief
University students may now apply for the third edition of the Space Weather Training Course, to be held from 24 to 28 March 2025 at ESA Academy’s Training and Learning Facility in ESEC-Galaxia, Belgium. This training course has been developed by ESA’s Education and Space Weather Offices.
In-depth
Did you know that weather isn’t just an Earthly phenomenon?
The near-Earth space environment is affected by solar and interplanetary changes, triggering phenomena such as geomagnetic storms able to significantly impact spacecraft trajectories, satellite electronics, communications, GNSS signals, the safety of astronauts and more. Space weather can disrupt the technology we have become so dependent upon on Earth.
That's where space weather research and services come in. They play a vital role in protecting our technology and astronauts by forecasting the effects of space conditions on both biological and technological systems.
The field of space weather encompasses both the dynamic state of the space environment and its interaction with technologies as diverse as spacecraft hardware in orbit to power distribution networks on the ground. Space weather services aim to translate knowledge of space weather phenomena and their potential impacts into actionable information for system operators in the affected sectors.
ESA’s Space Safety Programme Office aims to detect, predict and assess threats from space and their potential risk to life, property, and infrastructure. ESA’s Space Weather Office is addressing those risks associated with our Sun's activity to provide owners and operators of critical spaceborne and ground-based infrastructure with timely and accurate information that will enable mitigation of the adverse impacts of space weather.
Training Course Description
ESA intends to provide students with an overview and introduction to the space weather domain from various perspectives. This will include scientific and technological fundamentals, space weather monitoring, forecasting, modelling, understanding of its technological impacts, and an outlook toward the future evolution of these fields.
The course will include lectures and hands-on practical work together with tours of key facilities providing an essential part of the current European space weather landscape: ESA’s Space Weather Coordination Centre and the Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence at the Space Pole in Brussels, and both ESA’s Space Weather Data Centre and Proba-2 and Proba-3 Operations Centre at ESEC-Redu.
Upon completion of the workshop, students will be evaluated based on their group project and will receive a certificate of participation and course transcript, allowing them to request ECTS credit(s) from their respective universities.
Preliminary schedule
| Day 1 |
Welcome and Introduction ESA&ESA Education Programme Space Weather Introduction: From Physics to Impacts Space Weather Physics Fundamentals I: The Sun and Heliosphere Space Weather Physics Fundamentals II: The Geospace Environment From Physics to Forecasting |
| Day 2 |
Space Weather Modelling Space Weather Modelling Tutorial Data Resources for Space Weather Monitoring and Forecasting Space Weather Impact on Space Surveillance and Tracking Space Weather Impact on Spacecraft Operations Space Environment Impacts on Space-Based Systems |
| Day 3 |
Space Weather Impact on Navigation & Communication Systems Space Weather Impact on Ground-based Systems Visit the Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence and ESA’s Space Weather Coordination Centre |
| Day 4 |
Space Weather Impact on Aviation Space Weather & Society: The Road to Operational Service Provision in Europe Group Project session |
| Day 5 |
Visit of ESEC-Redu Group Project presentations Wrap-up and Conclusion |
Who can apply?
To participate, students must fulfil the following criteria at the time of application:
- aged minimum 18 years old. ESA Academy and relevant partners will only appraise applications from students who have no or limited professional experience in relevant engineering or space-related topics;
- be a citizen of an ESA Member State, Canada*, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia;
- be enrolled as a Master or Ph.D. student in a university (not graduating before the training course);
- be studying an engineering subject, science, or business administration/communication with a science or engineering background.
Selected students will be requested to attend the entire 5-day training course at ESEC-Galaxia. They will be sponsored by ESA to cover accommodation and meals, as well as up to 300 Euros for travelling to Belgium.
ESA is committed to achieving diversity and creating an inclusive professional environment. To this end, we welcome proposals and applications from all eligible candidates irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, beliefs, age, disability, or other characteristics. ESA Academy strongly encourages inclusiveness within its programmes and within participating teams, which contributes to the enrichment of our programme.
Whenever possible, we seek to accommodate individuals with disabilities by providing the necessary support, either digitally or at the location of the training. In case of any questions or specific needs, please reach out to academy.training@esa.int to get assistance or advice during the application process.
How to apply
- Fill in the application form;
- Upload a motivation letter (PDF, maximum 1 page, no images);
- Upload a CV (PDF, Europass format, maximum 2 pages, no images);
- Upload a formal recommendation letter (PDF, maximum 1 page, including signature, no images) from a university professor or academic supervisor of the current university (if it is not possible to receive the recommendation letter from your referee, please ask them to send a recommendation email to academy.training@esa.int before the application deadline);
- Upload a copy of your Transcript of Grades from the two previous semesters, or, if not available, the previous graded academic year (PDF).
All answers and documents should be in English (Transcript of Grades can be submitted in the language of the hosting university, if unavailable in English).
*Canadian students enrolled in a Canadian post-secondary institution may apply for additional support from the Canadian Space Agency through this Announcement of Opportunity (grant applications must be submitted at least 8 weeks before the course delivery and account creation 3 weeks before the deadline). This additional support is to cover costs that are not already covered by ESA for selected Canadian post-secondary students.
The deadline for applications is 13 January 2025, 23:59 CET.
The selection announcement is on 27 January 2025.
For more information, please contact academy.training@esa.int.