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    Submission
    4 weeks left
    Discussion
    Starts May 13
    Evaluation
    Starts Jun 30
    Closed
    Sep 25

    Call for Inter-Disciplinary Scientists and Guest Investigators for TGO

    Call for Inter-Disciplinary Scientists and Guest Investigators for TGO

    Director of Human and Robotic Exploration - Daniel Neuenschwander

      OBJECTIVE OF THIS CALL

      The purpose of this Announcement of Opportunity is to solicit the participation of the scientific community as Interdisciplinary Scientists and Guest Investigators in the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) mission. The deadline for submission of proposals is 13 May 2026, 13:00 CEST.

      ESA aims to appoint up to two Interdisciplinary Scientists (IDSs) and up to eight Guest Investigators (GIs) for the TGO mission. The IDSs and the GIs will be appointed for a nominal period of five years in the first instance. ESA will not fund the activities of the IDSs or the GIs (e.g., travel). Each proposer is responsible for securing his/her own funding from other sources.

      Details about the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) mission can be found here. The roles of the IDSs and GIs are described in the dedicated section below. IDS and GI investigations should broadly contribute to the overall goals of the ExoMars programme, and the ESA's Explore 2040 strategy. 

      INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENTIST (IDS)

      Interdisciplinary Scientists (IDSs) promote and pursue scientific investigations transcending the boundaries of individual instruments or scientific fields. Thus, IDSs are encouraged to take part in the analysis of data from different instruments on board TGO for pursuing interdisciplinary objectives not already covered by the scientific objectives of the selected instruments. The IDSs scientific objectives should be complementary to the TGO mission instruments’ scientific objectives. 

      Selection as IDS does not convey any privileged data access rights; if investigators require access beyond what is available from ESA's Planetary Science Archives then they should confer with the Principal Investigators of relevant TGO instrument teams. IDSs are normally invited to take part in specific Science Working Team (SWT) activities and relevant instrument team meetings.  

      Individual scientists, possibly supported by a team, can apply for IDS positions. The IDS candidates must clearly present their scientific case, the relevance of their contribution to the overall mission science, and the instrument data sets needed to carry out their research programme. Any required funding for their work should be secured with their national funding agency, or with other research support organisations.

      GUEST INVESTIGATOR (GI)

      Guest Investigators (GIs) pursue scientific investigations using TGO data, using data from one or more instruments, or spacecraft datasets; their investigations may use TGO data in combination with results from other missions, ground observations, laboratory measurements, or numerical models. Applications to carry out radio science investigations of neutral atmosphere, ionosphere, or of gravitational fields, would be welcome.

      Selection as Guest Investigator does not convey any privileged data access rights; if investigators require access beyond what is available from ESA's Planetary Science Archives then they should confer with the Principal Investigators of relevant TGO instrument teams. GIs are normally invited to take part in specific Science Working Team (SWT) activities and relevant instrument team meetings.  

      Individual scientists, possibly supported by a team, can apply for GI positions. The GI candidates must clearly present their scientific case, the relevance of their contribution to the overall mission science, and the instrument data sets needed to carry out their research programme. Any required funding for their work should be secured with their national funding agency, or with other research support organisations.

      AO SCHEDULE

       The schedule for this Call is as follows:

      • Release of this AO: 25 March 2026
      • Application final submission date: 13 May 2026, 13:00 CEST
      • Announcement of IDSs and GIs:  September 2026

      Selected IDS & GIs will be invited to participate in the TGO Science Working Team (SWT) meeting, currently foreseen for 19-22 Oct., at ESOC (Darmstadt, Germany).

       

      ELIGIBILITY

      This Announcement of Opportunity (AO) is open to the international science community. No national eligibility criteria are specified, either on institutional affiliation or applicant's citizenship. 

      Privacy notice  

      ​​​​​Any individual responding to this Call must provide some personal data as part of the submission process. Protection of personal data is of great importance to ESA. Details of the personal data protection measures that apply to this Call can be found in the privacy notice attached.

      FORMAT OF THE APPLICATION

      Application package for IDS and GI:

      1. Applicant’s contact information;

      2. A curriculum vitae (maximum 2 pages);

      3. Science case (maximum 2 pages); 

      A description of the proposed scientific investigation and a statement concerning the time availability. Provide clear indication if the application is for an IDS or GI position.

      4. Financial support letter (maximum 1 page): This should include a statement that the applicant has funding to conduct the proposed work and to undertake any travel needed for the proposed work, e.g., to attend TGO Science Working Team (SWT) meetings (currently only one in-person meeting per year) and any relevant science team meetings. Normally this would be from an institutional line manager / head of department. 

      5. Privacy Notice Consent Form: The Privacy Notice Consent Form can be accessed here. Signed and dated forms are to be submitted in PDF format and named as "LastName_FirstName_PN_Consent".  

      Attachments

      Do you need help?

      Campaign Manager - Daniel Mathijs Paardekooper, Mars Science Support

      Scientific and programmatic questions about the call may be addressed to Colin.Wilson@esa.int or Gerhard.Kminek@esa.int in the first instance. Technical questions about the OSIP platform can be addressed to Daniel.Paardekooper@ext.esa.int.

      Background Information

      Innovation Area

      Human and Robotic Exploration

      ESA’s Terrae Novae exploration programme is leading Europe’s human journey into the Solar System using robots as precursors and scouts. Exploring space is about travelling farther and coming back with new experiences and knowledge to help us on Earth. Humankind will benefit from the new discoveries, ambitions, science, inspiration and challenges. 

      Learn More

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