162 ESA Internships in Europe 2026: Apply by 30 November

Youth Works Hub has gathered 162 ESA internships for 2026 across 8 European countries, all closing on 30 November 2026. The European Space Agency calls are mostly aimed at university students, often preferably at Master's level, and range from Earth observation and space debris to law, translation and graphic design.

Noordwijk in the Netherlands hosts 81 of the placements, followed by Darmstadt and Porz-Wahn in Germany, Paris and Toulouse in France, Frascati in Italy, Villanueva de la Cañada in Spain, Harwell in the United Kingdom, Redu and Brussels in Belgium and Villigen in Switzerland. If you are weighing up your options, see how an internship differs from a fellowship, and read how we verify opportunities before you apply.

Each call has its own angle:

🇳🇱 Netherlands: The FLEX Mission internship supports a new mission that studies plant photosynthesis from space.

🇩🇪 Germany: The JUICE Flight Control Team internship works with the team of the mission heading to Jupiter's icy moons.

🇫🇷 France: The Translation and Terminology internship covers translating texts from English into French and building a multilingual termbase.

🇮🇹 Italy: The Bringing Lost Asteroids Back internship helps build a tool that searches existing observation databases for lost asteroids.

🇪🇸 Spain: The Innovative BepiColombo Science Communication internship helps communicate the science of the BepiColombo mission as it arrives at Mercury.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: The Vulcan Team internship works with analogue samples that help prepare surface exploration of the Moon and Mars.

🇧🇪 Belgium: The EU Relations Office internship supports ESA's relations with the Council, Parliament, Commission, EDA and EEAS.

🇨🇭 Switzerland: The Intellectual Assets Strategic Management Office internship places you in the team that protects and commercialises the agency's inventions.

Most of the 162 placements run for 3 to 6 months, and most calls are aimed at university students, often preferably at Master's level. Each call lists its own eligible nationalities, in most cases 27 or 31 countries, and the full conditions are on each listing page. 📅 Deadlines: 30 Nov (162) 🌍 Countries: 🇳🇱 Netherlands (81) · 🇩🇪 Germany (38) · 🇫🇷 France (15) · 🇮🇹 Italy (12) · 🇪🇸 Spain (8) · 🇬🇧 United Kingdom (4) · 🇧🇪 Belgium (3) · 🇨🇭 Switzerland

What's in this batch:

162 Internships · 8 Countries

💼 Internships & Traineeships

1. 🇳🇱 AI-enabled Scientific Knowledge Management and Discovery Intern

📅 Deadline: 30 November 2026

📍 Noordwijk, Netherlands · ⏳ 3 to 6 months

ESA's AI-enabled Scientific Knowledge Management and Discovery internship has you build a digital toolthat helps researchers find and reuse knowledge from a space life sciences handbook, working between a science team and a software and AI team.

Apply here →

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🌍 All opportunities in Netherlands →

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2. 🇩🇪 Infrastructure Analytics and Anomaly Detection Intern

📅 Deadline: 30 November 2026

📍 Darmstadt, Germany · ⏳ 3 to 6 months

ESA's Infrastructure Analytics and Anomaly Detection internship turns infrastructure logs into operational insight with dashboards and anomaly detection, and suits Master's students familiar with containers, Kubernetes and the ELK stack.

Apply here →

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🌍 All opportunities in Germany →

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3. 🇳🇱 FLEX Mission Intern

📅 Deadline: 30 November 2026

📍 Noordwijk, Netherlands · ⏳ 3 to 6 months

📅 Deadline: 30 November 2026

📍 Harwell, United Kingdom · ⏳ 3 to 6 months

ESA's Spaceship ECSAT Team internship joins a research team preparing technologies for future cislunar missions and activities on the Moon, where you pick one of three topics: robotics, VR/XR or human factors.

Apply here →

11. 🇳🇱 Harmony Mission Intern

📅 Deadline: 30 November 2026

📍 Noordwijk, Netherlands · ⏳ 3 to 6 months

ESA's Harmony Mission internship sits in an Earth science section that supports Earth observation missions from concept studies through to routine operations.

Apply here →

12. 🇧🇪 STEM Education, Didactics and E-Learning for Teachers Intern

📅 Deadline: 30 November 2026

📍 Redu, Belgium · ⏳ 3 to 6 months

ESA's STEM Education, Didactics and E-Learning for Teachers internship supports the ESA Education Office at ESEC-Galaxia, whose programme backs educators from early ages up to upper secondary level.

📅 Deadline: 30 November 2026

📍 Porz-Wahn, Germany · ⏳ 3 to 6 months

ESA's XR Lab internship builds Unreal Engine tools for astronauts with a Meta Quest 3 headset, on concepts for use onboard the International Space Station.

Apply here →

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can apply for ESA internships in 2026?

Most of the 162 ESA internships in this batch are aimed at university students, often preferably at Master's level. Some calls narrow the profile further, for example to students in their final or second-to-last Master's year, or to applicants with specific skills such as Python, MATLAB or a background in law, communication or engineering. Each call also lists its eligible nationalities, in most cases 27 or 31 countries. The placements are based in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Switzerland. Before you send your documents, these application tips help you present your profile clearly.

When is the deadline for ESA internships in 2026?

All 162 ESA internships in this batch close on 30 November 2026. The same date applies to every placement, whether it is in Noordwijk, Darmstadt, Porz-Wahn, Paris, Toulouse, Frascati, Villanueva de la Cañada, Harwell, Redu, Brussels or Villigen. Most placements last 3 to 6 months, and a few calls state a preferred duration of six months. With 162 calls on one date, it helps to shortlist the topics that fit your studies early and prepare each application separately. Our guide on how to apply walks you through the steps.

Where are ESA internships located in Europe?

The 162 ESA internships are based in 8 countries, and Noordwijk in the Netherlands hosts 81 of them.Germany follows with 38 placements in Darmstadt and Porz-Wahn, then France with 15 in Paris and Toulouse, Italy with 12 in Frascati, Spain with 8 in Villanueva de la Cañada, the United Kingdom with 4 in Harwell, Belgium with 3 in Redu and Brussels, and Switzerland with 1 in Villigen. A few calls name two possible sites, such as Darmstadt or Noordwijk, or Porz-Wahn or Noordwijk. If you are moving abroad for the placement, check the visa requirements for your nationality early.

The batch falls into a few clear tracks: Earth observation and climate missions, space safety and debris, satellite navigation, human and robotic exploration of the Moon and Mars, AI and software, and a solid set of roles in law, contracts, communication, translation and policy. If you are also looking at institutional placements elsewhere in Europe, the EU Blue Book traineeship is another option worth knowing.

According to Youth Works Hub's review of these 162 calls, the range of topics means students from many different fields can find a match, not only engineers. For a wider view of what international experience can add to your career development, read our guide, then pick the topics that fit you and apply through each listing.