Europa Clipper ICONS Internships

Europa ICONS

The new Inspiring Clipper: Opportunities for Next-generation Scientists (ICONS) internships will bring members of the Europa Clipper mission team together with undergraduate students for 10-week programs that give students the opportunity to conduct original scientific research.

Internships may be in-person at the mentor's institution, virtual, or hybrid, depending on the research project and needs of the mentor and intern.

Near the end of the 10 weeks, students and mentors will convene for a two-day conference.

Interns will receive a $12,000 stipend for the duration of the program, and may be eligible for travel, housing, and relocation allowances, depending on the location of their research activities.

The first Europa ICON internship will run June 3-Aug. 9, 2024.

Student applications are due Feb. 2, 2024, and can be found on the NASA STEM Gateway or here by searching "Europa ICONS."
Mentor project proposals are due Dec. 18.

See below for more program details.

Questions? Contact Amanda Nahm, Europa Clipper deputy program scientist, at HQ-EuropaICONS@mail.nasa.gov.

exploring the habitability of Jupiter's icy Moon

Europa Clipper

Earth's first mission to conduct a detailed science investigation of Jupiter's moon Europa, where scientists predict a vast salty ocean lies beneath its icy crust, possibly holding the building blocks necessary to sustain life.

Learn More

This illustration shows the Europa Clipper spacecraft approaching Jupiter's moon Europa.

This illustration shows the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which is being developed for launch in October 2024, approaching Jupiter's moon Europa.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Participation Information for Students

Enrollment as an undergraduate student at a U.S. degree-granting institution, including community colleges, with a minimum 3.0 GPA. U.S. citizens enrolled at non-U.S. institutions are also eligible to apply, but must be in the U.S. for the internship (whether in person or virtual).
Graduation date in winter 2023 or later.
May be in person, fully virtual, or travel back and forth regularly.
Must be U.S. citizens.
Preference will be given to students at institutions without active participation in planetary spacecraft missions.
Provide resumes/CVs and transcripts and short description of interest.
Stipends of $12,000 for 10 weeks, with a travel/relocation stipend also possible.
Travel/lodging and related costs will be covered for the end-of-program mini conference.
Student applications are due Feb. 2 and can be found on the NASA STEM Gateway by searching "Europa ICONS."
Selections are expected to be announced by the beginning of March.

Participation Information for Mentors

Must be U.S.-based and on the Clipper science team.
Provide NASA with research topic proposal, skills/background necessary for project, and skills learned through project.
Will be paid one month of salary to acknowledge work needed to mentor properly.
Travel/lodging and related costs will be covered for the end-of-program mini conference.
Will be responsible for getting the student access to labs, data, programs, etc. needed to conduct the research at their institution, and to help student identify local, affordable, and safe housing if necessary.

meet the mentors

blonde woman standing by railing at mountain top

Dr. Tracy Becker

Planetary Scientist, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio

brown-haired man in blue dress shirt with his arms folded, smiling

Dr. Don Blankenship

Senior Research Scientist, Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas, Austin

Dr. Geoff Collins

Professor of Geology, Wheaton College, Massachusetts

blonde woman in green cowl-necked cable-knit sweater, smiling, arms folded, in from of hyperwall

Dr. Ingrid Daubar

Planetary Scientist, Brown University, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Short-haired person in orange, short-sleeved shirt over brown T-shirt, smiling, standing on some rocks at a beach

Charlie Detelich

Ph.D. Student in Astronomy, Cornell University

short-haired blonde man in blue quarter-zip with red T-shirt underneath, smiling in from of planetary globes

Dr. Andrew Dombard

Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Planetary Science, Geophysics, and Planetary Exploration, University of Illinois, Chicago

Formal portrait of man with dark hair and glasses in black suit with black and gold striped tie, white shirt

Dr. Christopher Glein

Lead Scientist, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas

head shot of dark-haired man in dark suit, light blue shirt, medium-blue tie

Dr. Sergei Gleyzer

Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Co-director Alabama AI Center, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

Dr. Paul Hayne

Assistant Professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

Mission identifier with stylized blue ice crystal over mission name

Dr. Matt Hedman

Assistant Professor, Physics Department, University of Idaho

head shot of short-haired man in white button-down shirt

Dr. Karl Hibbits

Planetary Scientist, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

man with straight black hair in blue T-shirt with backpack and rocky background

Dr. Hsiang-Wen (Sean) Hsu

Research Scientist, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder

Dr. Benjamin Idini

Planetary Geophysicist and fellow, UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, University of California Santa Cruz

Dr. Sascha Kempf

Associate Professor, Physics Department, University of Colorado, Boulder

woman with blonde braid and glasses, brown cardigan over elephant-print batik-style blouse, hand on her hip, smiling in front of the Europa Clipper clean room window

Dr. Erin Leonard

Project Staff Scientist, Europa Clipper mission, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

woman with jaw-length wavy gray here in burgundy paisley jacket over pink T-shirt, gold pendant necklace

Dr. Melissa McGrath

Senior Scientist, SETI Institute

head shot of woman with long, brown wavy hair, black v-necked sweater, in front of window

Dr. Heather Meyer

Planetary Scientist, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

woman with straight, shoulder-length hair, yellow floral blouse in a green space

Dr. Kelly Miller

Group Lead, In Situ Techniques Group, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio

bearded man with glasses in black ball cap, windbreaker, jeans, holding a pumpkin in a pumpkin patch

Dr. Wes Patterson

Principal Staff Scientist, John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Dr. Carol Paty

Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty, Clark Honors College, University of Oregon, Eugene

Photoshop-generated illustration of dark-haired woman, hair pulled back, with glasses and blue patterned blouse

Dr. Cynthia Phillips

Planetary Geologist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

woman with layered, mid-length blonde hair, red glasses, speaking a mic with dark blue blouse, cobalt-blue pendant necklace

Dr. Julie Rathbun

Senior Scientist, Planetary Science Institute, Pasadena. California

Dr. Ujjwal Raut

Experimental Physicist and Planetary Scientist, UTSA-SwRI Space Physics Graduate Program

man with goatee, wearing tan ball cap and blue T-shirt, taking selfie in front of crowd watching weather system in the distance

Dr. Kurt Retherford

Planetary Scientist, UTSA-SwRI Space Physics Graduate Program

brown-haired man with light beard, wearing light gray quarter zip and dark T-Shirt underneath, standing in front of greenery similar to palm trees

Dr. Kirt Robinson

Assistant Research Scientist, Arizona State University

seated, goateed man in red knit cap holding diving helmet and wearing full diving gear

Dr. Paul Schenk

Senior Staff Scientist, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Texas

Dr. Dustin Schroeder

Associate Professor, Geophysics and Electrical Engineering, and Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University