NEO Scientist

Starion is looking for a NEO Scientist to work at ESA’s premises in Darmstadt, Germany on establishing a back-up for MPC services.

Tasks and activities

• Study phase:
  • Identification requirements for establishing back-up MPC services.
  • Improve the linking process. ‘Linking’ is the activity to match newly incoming asteroid position observations (tracklets) to previous observations in the existing MPC database.
  • Identify collaborative actions between the reporting of Artificial Satellite astrometry and ephemerides at MPC and at ESA’s PDO.
  • Support the asteroid naming process.
  • Analyse web-based services to support the implementation of the MPC support.
  • Detailed specification of software solutions proposed for the new services.
  • Interface with the MPC to analyse service options.
  • Interface with ESA regarding software and hardware matters.
• Implementation phase:
  • Make use of web-based services analysed during the study phase.
  • Technical support in the follow-up of software implementations performed.
  • Interface with the MPC to analyse the prototype service solutions.
  • Interface with ESA where needed regarding software and hardware matters.
• Operations phase:
  • Interface with the MPC in close collaboration for the service operations.
  • Identification and analysis of potential additional services to be included in support to the MPC.
  • Further detailed specification of the software solutions proposed for the new services.
  • Further technical support in the follow-up of the software implementations.
  • Interface with ESA where needed regarding software and hardware matters.

Skills and experience

• Master’s/PhD in Physics, Astronomy, Aerospace Engineering.
• 5 years’ experience with NEO related topics e.g. NEO science & dynamics, NEO Observation or minor body celestial mechanics.
• Knowledge & experience working with NEO data.
• Knowledge of MPC processes & data.
• Specification, validation & verification of software and working with data models.
• Communicating with international partners e.g., space agencies, international entities & scientific communities.
• Experience in acceptance test & validation techniques.
• Fluent in English