Archival Research Visitor Programme

The ESA Archival Research Visitor Programme invites scientists to conduct research using data from the ESA Space Science Archives, which includes data from ESA's space missions in astronomy, planetary science, and heliophysics. The program is open to scientists at any career stage from ESA Member and Collaborating States. Researchers from other countries may also apply if they have strong applications. 

Participants typically stay between one and three months at either ESAC or ESTEC, where ESA covers travel, lodging, and meal costs.

To ensure that technical expertise in the specific area of interest is available at ESAC or ESTEC, applicants should consult the table of expertise and contact the relevant scientists in their field of interest. 

Call for applications

Applications can be submitted at any time by sending email to arvp@cosmos.esa.int. The email should contain a single PDF document of at most three pages following the template provided here.

Deadlines

Applications can be submitted at any time and are reviewed twice a year, with deadlines usually on 30 April and 31 October.

Accommodation

Visitors are responsible for finding their own accommodation.

Reimbursement of expenses

ESA reimburses travel costs from and to the home institution as well as lodging costs (with a limit of 100 €/night, when possible). It also provides a stipend of 50 €/day for meals and incidental expenditures, such as local transportation. Airplane or train tickets will be reimbursed upon arrival. All reimbursements occur via bank transfer and visitors will be asked to provide their account information before arriving.

Computing equipment

We assume that visitors will use their own laptop computers and we will provide credentials to access the ESA wireless networks.

If the research project requires more powerful desktop computers, specific software packages, or access to the ESA grid, the needs must be described in the application in order for arrangements to be made ahead of time.

Deliverables

Visitors are expected to give a presentation to the ESA Science Faculty during their residence.

At the end of their stay, visitors must provide a report on the advancement of their research, highlighting the role played by ESA data and any problems encountered (follow this simple template to prepare your report and send it by email to arvp@cosmos.esa.int). 

Visa requirements

No visa is required for citizens of European Union countries or of ESA Member States when travelling to ESAC or ESTEC. This also applies to UK nationals for visits of up to 90 days. Citizens of other countries are responsible for arranging the necessary visa documents, when applicable.

Useful contacts

Program coordinators: arvp@cosmos.esa.int

Science Faculty Visitors

The ESA Science Faculty provides support for scientific visitors to ESAC (Madrid, Spain), ESTEC (Noordwijk, Netherlands) or STScI (Baltimore, Maryland, USA).

Applications for funding are reviewed by the ESA Science Faculty Council based on written proposals which can be submitted at any time.

Detailed process is described here.

Template for the project proposal can be found here.

Seminars and publications

Visitors are expected to give a talk during their visit.

Please ensure the faculty contact arranges the talk as soon as possible with the relevant organisers.

Individuals and groups who publish research which has benefitted from a Faculty Grant should acknowledge that support in their publications as follows:
"We acknowledge support from ESA through the ESA Space Science Faculty Visitor scheme - Funding reference XYZ"

Useful contacts

Asking for reimbursement: visitor_claim@cosmos.esa.int

Questions/ following process: faculty_funding@cosmos.esa.in