In collaboration with Hochschule Darmstadt and funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), the Institute of Flight Systems and Automatic Control (FSR) has launched the activity “Gaming for the Information and Outreach for the Space Safety Programme” (G4S2P) in March 2025.
This project brings science, safety, and storytelling together through interactive digital tools aimed at making ESA’s Space Safety Programme (S2P) more accessible and engaging for the broad public. By combining scientific rigor with innovative design, G4S2P delivers two standout applications: a mobile infotainment game and a virtual reality (VR) experience.
ESA SHIELD: The Mobile Game That Educates While You Play
ESA SHIELD is a mobile game designed to inform and entertain. The game casts players in the role of a strategic operator managing key challenges across three major S2P domains: space weather, planetary defense, and space debris mitigation.
Players must respond to dynamic space events – like solar storms, satellite collision events, and asteroid threats – using scientifically grounded mechanics. From tracking near-Earth asteroids to launching active debris removal missions, each decision introduces users to the complexities of space hazards and ESA's mitigation strategies. With 3D visuals, real-time decision-making, and gameplay inspired by actual environmental models, ESA SHIELD turns space safety into an exciting, educational mission.
The game will also have a PC-ported version that can be wishlisted on the official ESA SHIELD Steam page.
Immersive Insights: Exploring Space Risks Through Virtual Reality
To engage audiences at exhibitions, fairs, and other public events, a VR experience is developed in addition to the ESA SHIELD mobile game within the G4S2P activity. The VR experience offers a compelling journey through the key domains of ESA’s Space Safety Programme:
- Space Debris Mitigation
- Space Weather
- Planetary Defense
From the violent bursts of solar activity visualized in real-time to high-stakes asteroid flybys and immersive fly-throughs of Earth’s debris-laden orbit, users are placed in the middle of the action. Each segment combines cinematic storytelling with scientific accuracy, highlighting ESA’s cutting-edge missions like Hera, Vigil, and Clearspace-1. The result: a powerful tool for communication and outreach, turning complex data into a clear call to action for space safety.
