Space Weather Training Course is open for applications

Did you know the weather is not something exclusive to Earth? You do not need an umbrella to shield you from the rain in space, but there are still storms.

In fact, the near-Earth space environment is affected by changing solar and interplanetary conditions, which can trigger phenomena such as geomagnetic storms able to significantly impact spacecraft trajectories, satellite electronics, communications, GNSS signals, 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: to help us better protect our technology and astronauts in space by understanding the physical processes driving space environment conditions, and forecasting and nowcasting the potential impacts on 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 on-orbit through 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 the activity of our Sun with the goal of providing 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 a range of perspectives. This will include scientific and technological fundamentals, space weather monitoring, forecasting, modelling, and understanding of its technological impacts along with 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 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 + Demo
Day 3:	Space Weather Impact on Navigation & Communication Systems Space Weather Impact on Ground-based Systems Visit of the Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence and ESA’s Space Weather Coordination Centre
Day 4:	Space Weather Impact on Aviation Space Weather Socio-Economic Impacts and the Road to Operational Service- Provision in Europe Group Project session
Day 5:	Visit of ESEC-Redu Group Project Wrap-up and preparation of presentations Group Project presentations Wrap-up and Conclusion

Who can apply?

In order 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 eligible ESA Member State, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia or Slovenia;
• 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 traveling to Belgium.

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 tlp@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 7 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 11 March 2024 23:59 CEST.

For more information, please contact tlp@esa.int.