About this job

Space Applications Services is a company based in the Brussels area (BE) that provides products and services for the space sector in many areas from Avionics, Robotics, Human Exploration, Science and Earth Observation.

Space Applications Services is currently developing a prototype Lunar rover designed for operation in the permanently shadowed regions of the Moon. The rover will study the concentration and distribution of water and other volatile gases in the regolith using a variety of sensors. During the internship, the candidate will support the R&D activities of the team and take part in the development of the ground control software for the rover.

The successful Intern will be based in our main office at Sint-Stevens-Woluwe (Brussels Area).

The internship is available at the Robotics, Mechanisms and Structures Team (Systems Department).

Responsibilities

The ground control system retrieves telemetry from the prototype rover, stores it and displays it to end-users in the most suitable way. This process leverages open-source tools such as NASA MCS combined with modules developed internally at Space Applications Services.

The outcome of the internship will be used as the primary control and monitoring system during the field test campaigns of the rover and instruments.

The Internship includes the following tasks:

• Getting familiar with the existing rover hardware and software and the NASA MCS suite
• Collecting and analysing the needs of the vehicle and payload operators
• Developing:
  • Connectors between the rover software and the ground station database
  • Ground station user interfaces for different classes of end-users (e.g. rover operators, payload operators, scientists)
  • Demonstration scenarios and participation in any relevant field tests
• Writing documentation (progress and final reports).

Profile

Main Relevant Qualifications and Experience

Depending on the Thesis/Internship’s scope of work, a selection of the following is desirable:

• Enrolment in a Master Degree in robotics, mechatronics, software engineering, or equivalent
• Good mastery of Python and Linux
• Knowledge of software development tools such as Git and Docker
• Hands-on experience (educational, professional or DIY) using at least one of the following:
  • Robot development frameworks (e.g. ROS)
  • SQL Databases
  • GIS Systems.

The successful intern will have the following skills

• Strength to cope with schedules and deadlines
• Ability to
  • Synthesise, summarise and draw conclusions
  • Adhere to strict standards of confidentiality
  • Work in distributed international teams
• Excellent organisational and communication skills
• Excellent written and spoken English.

What Do We Offer?

• An experience in a growing company with Staff located in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands
• Under certain conditions, a monthly lump sum allowance
• A professional, pleasant atmosphere with motivated and passionate Staff, where autonomy and initiatives are encouraged.

The successful candidate shall be eligible to do an internship in the European Union.

We are looking for someone to be available for a 6 months’ internship.