Science & Exploration Are you a doctor with the right stuff? 02/12/2015 16111 views 51 likes

ESA is looking for a medical doctor to live for a year in Antarctica at the French–Italian Concordia research station. Your job is to run experiments in the Antarctic wilderness that help to prepare for future spaceflight beyond Earth orbit.

Concordia research station The research station is as close as you can get to an outpost on another planet. Temperatures can drop as low as –80°C and the cold and high altitude mean that the inhabitants live with restricted oxygen. During the polar night, the Sun will not rise above the horizon for over 100 days and no fresh supplies can be flown in for nine months. The multicultural crew of up to 15 people have to learn to live and work together no matter what happens, just like astronauts on long missions away from Earth. Your task is to run experiments as diverse as searching for life in the vast white desert of snow outside, monitoring eyesight and recording people’s mood throughout their stay.

Aurora over Concordia station “The ESA medical doctor is our eyes and ears in Antarctica, fulfilling a similar role to an astronaut on the International Space Station,” explains ESA’s head of human research, Jennifer Ngo-Anh. “They run the experiments and are in direct contact with the researchers in Europe to collect and exchange the results.” In the meantime you will be treated to some of the best auroral displays on Earth and experience an unforgettable adventure in the world’s largest, coldest, highest desert.

Read more about the experiments here and learn about the base through the links to the left. For a more personal account, have a look at the Concordia blog. Does taking part in research paving the way for space exploration, while living in one of the most secluded places on Earth for a year, appeal to you? Anyone from an ESA Member State with a medical degree can apply before the 1 February deadline.