The Master in Space Science and Technology at Observatoire de Paris-PSL is part of the Astrophysics graduate program dedicated to Space and Astrophysics. This graduate program aims at the best employability of graduate students in research or engineering.
It builds on the strengths of PSL’s astrophysics laboratories at Paris Observatory.
Master in Space Science and Technology: second year
The second year includes 4 tracks:
Research-oriented tracks: designed for students who intend to pursue doctoral studies and prepare a doctoral thesis in fundamental or applied research in astronomy, astrophysics and related techniques.
- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Celestial Dynamics (AADC)
- Planetary Science and Space Exploration (PES)
- International Research Track (IRT)
Vocational course / Space Engineering track: designed for those who wish to pursue careers as project managers and engineers in the field of space technology (large industries, SMEs, space agencies, international organisations, etc.), working in teams involved in the design, production, control or implementation of observation, digital analysis and data processing systems.
- Tools and Systems of Astronomy and Space (OSAE)
Admission
Contact : master2.administration at obspm.fr
Details of the 4 tracks
- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Celestial Dynamics (AADC)
The AADC track offers multidisciplinary training covering all major areas of astrophysics and celestial dynamics. It combines a theoretical, numerical and instrumental approach based on skills in computing, simulation, image processing and data analysis. This programme closely links astrophysics with mathematics, mechanics, physics and geophysics, and allows students to focus on a variety of topics: planetology, stellar structure and evolution, astrophysical and space plasmas, compact objects, the interstellar medium, astroparticles, galaxies, cosmology, as well as celestial mechanics, reference systems, geodesy and space navigation, N-body system dynamics, gravitation and fundamental physics.
- Planetary Science and Space Exploration (PES)
The PES track comprises theoretical and practical lessons in physics, chemistry, Earth sciences, biology, space sciences, computer science and signal processing. These subjects focus on the study of bodies in the Solar System, such as planets, satellites, asteroids, comets and meteorites, as well as exoplanets. This inter-institutional and multidisciplinary training is open to students of physics, earth sciences, chemistry and biology. It is intended for students who wish to acquire the solid knowledge and tools necessary for planetological research, as well as those who simply wish to expand their general knowledge in this fascinating field.
- Tools and Systems of Astronomy and Space (OSAE)
The OSAE track is intended for students with an M1 or master’s degree in physics, applied physics, technology, optics, electronics, computer science or materials, who are interested in astronomy, space science and/or technology.
The programme aims to provide training in broad-spectrum physics for future managers, prime contractors of subsystems, and potentially systems engineers or project managers in the field of space technologies or similar. Students will have access to opportunities in major industries, SMEs, international organisations, and space agencies.
To ensure teaching constantly aligns with the needs of this industrial sector, the OSAE programme is based on links with European industrialists, international institutions and laboratories, and ground and space agencies, as well as a partnership with the Île-de-France network of space astrophysics laboratories.
- International Research Track (IRT)
The M2 International Research Track (IRT) is designed according to the priorities of the Graduate Program in Astrophysics, with close integration of academic education and laboratory-based research. You will choose one of six majors and receive training in the techniques and methods used in astrophysics, tailored to your professional goals. The training programme is based on competitive astrophysics and astrophysics engineering projects conducted at PSL.
Courses are taught in English to welcome international students who wish to study in Paris but do not speak French, as well as to prepare French students for their future careers, since English is the standard language used in the professional fields in which our graduates work, whether in the research community — which is particularly globalised in astronomy, astrophysics and space engineering — or in the business world.