Interning at the Austrian Space Forum is more than just a professional experience: it’s a thrilling immersion into the world of space exploration. From Mars analog mission to cutting-edge technology and collaborations with experts from around the world, every day is an adventure.

I had the incredible opportunity to be part of this journey, and today, I’m taking you behind the scenes of this organization, where passion and innovation are paving the way for the future of space exploration.

My name is Maïa Binet and I am an aerospace engineering student at ESTACA, an engineering school in France. I chose to take a gap year to explore new professional environments and gain hands-on experiences in the space industry. My passion for this sector led me to the Austrian Space Forum, where I saw a unique opportunity to contribute to real-world projects while working alongside experts in the field. This internship allowed me to broaden my technical skills, adapt to an international research setting, and deepen my understanding of space analog mission.

One of my first assignments was to take over Mathias Sedlmayr’s work on the EXPLORE project. The explore project is an educational project run by OeWF, the aim of which is to involve nine students in a similar mission in Portugal, and to introduce students from three schools (in Greece, Portugal and Austria) to science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics. To achieve this, the project is based on a real analog mission but adapted for children.

So, Mathias had started to create a Flight Plan, the timetable that the nine analog student astronauts would have to follow during the mission, and I had to improve it. In addition, mission procedures had been put in place, and my mission was to review them to improve them and make them more accessible to 16-year-old students. Finally, it was my duty to create an evaluation system and set selection criteria for the nine future analog student astronauts. I then created a role-playing game, so that students from each school could have an idea of what an analog mission would be like, and teachers could evaluate certain criteria who would best fit the mission’s needs. Finally on this project I helped on the Delta spacesuit, created for the EXPLORE project, on procedures and packaging of them.

At the same time, I had the opportunity to work on the biggest analog mission ever created: the World Biggest Analog (WBA) project. This is an analog mission not with a single habitat but using several habitats around the world to simulate missions to lunar or Martian bases at the same time. The OeWF is involved in this project as a general mission control center, with a view over all the habitats worldwide. The problem was, understanding how to help all these habitats, how to act as a mission control center when faced with habitats that all have their own procedures, their own equipment and infrastructure?

To achieve this, interoperability tests must be carried out prior to the mission, which will take place in October 2025. My mission was to organize these tests, as well as to write more details on each habitat on the mission manifest.

What’s more, throughout my internship I was able to help the company by putting my technical skills to good use. I had to create 3D parts to hold up posters in the company, as well as creating mission patch holders and repairing the mailbox.

At the end of my internship, which is fast approaching, I also had the opportunity to work on the “AOUDA” analog suit.

Indeed, the spacesuit was created a long time ago, and we wondered about possible improvements using more recent technologies. One of our main aims was to make the suit lighter, so my first assignment was to work on the batteries. These are used to supply the suit with energy, notably for ventilation, lights, the on-board screen, cameras, air, heating, and so on.

More recently, I’ve had the task of lighting the helmet, and particularly the neck ring, which connects it to the body.

As you can see, lots of different tasks. I was only there for two and a half months, but I learned a lot from all the different tasks. I was able to apply and deepen my skills in project management, engineering techniques and, above all, work in an international environment.

I would like to thank Dr. Gernot Grömer for all the requirements he helped me to understand for my future engineering career, and for the warm welcome I received in his office; Seda Özdemir-Fritz, for guiding me during my missions on the EXPLORE project; and all the volunteers and employees of the Austrian Space Forum for welcoming me so kindly and being on-hand to answer my questions.

Author: Maïa Binet, OeWF intern