Our team and mission

​​The XR Lab at the European Astronaut Centre explores how Extended Reality technologies can enhance human spaceflight and future space exploration. Our work spans astronaut training, mission simulation, operational support, hardware development, and exploration mission design. By integrating virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies into spaceflight activities, we help develop innovative solutions for crews, engineers, and operators, while supporting the preparation of future missions beyond Earth orbit. The use of XR for training at EAC includes spacewalks, robotics, human anatomy and training technology demonstrators onboard the ISS.

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​Within the XR Lab, this opportunity is to further develop Extended Reality tools based on Unreal Engine for astronauts. This would specifically focus on preliminary work for projects using some Meta Quest 3 headsets onboard the International Space Station. In this context, the work combines extended reality development with machine learning techniques to improve interaction, perception, environment understanding, data interpretation, or context-aware assistance in constrained operational environments. The work may involve prototyping, testing, and refining methods that can increase robustness and usability for astronaut applications.

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​You will collaborate closely with engineers in the XR-Lab and experts in the European Astronaut Centre to contribute to ongoing developments that connect software engineering, human-centred design, and ISS Operations. The internship offers exposure to both practical implementation and experimentation, with opportunities to support the maturation of tools that are relevant to prepare future operational and research use cases.

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

Field(s) of activity for the internship

​​You will work directly with a Meta Quest 3 and support the development of new concepts in using such headsets onboard the International Space Station.

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​Your activities will include:

• ​combining immersive application development with machine learning methods to explore new capabilities for onboard assistance, interaction, data interpretation, and experimental operational concepts;
• ​helping to design, prototype, implement, and evaluate software components in close collaboration with the team;
• ​developing on-device real-time interaction features, sensor or data processing pipelines, computer vision-based functions, or software tooling depending on project needs;
• ​contributing to technical trade-offs, implementation work, and iterative testing of candidate solutions in a demanding applied environment.

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​Your learning objectives are:

• ​obtain a high-level understanding of Human Spaceflight in Europe;
• ​gain experience in extended reality development;
• ​understand how applied machine learning methods can support operational use cases such as assistance, interaction, perception, and data interpretation;
• ​develop practical experience in designing, prototyping, and testing software components within a multidisciplinary engineering team;
• ​learn how immersive technologies must be adapted, validated, and matured for use in constrained and safety-relevant environments.

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.

Essential Skills:

• proven experience in Unreal Engine development;
• intermediate C++ and/or intermediate Python proficiency;
• interest in extended reality development and machine learning applications;
• familiarity with version control and collaborative software engineering practices.

Desirable Skills:

• knowledge of computer vision, Bayesian theory, or signal processing;
• experience with the ESA XR Plugin;
• experience with prototyping, experimentation, or technical evaluation of interactive systems;
• experience with popular machine learning computer vision models and/or software.