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 video 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.
ESA SHIELD Trailer
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 has a PC version that can be downloaded for free on the official ESA SHIELD Steam page.
Coming soon
A mobile version of the game will be released by the end of 2025 for Android and Apple phones.
Join the community
- Discord: Join here – share ideas, report bugs & help us improve!
- Instagram: @esa_shield_game – stay up to date with the latest news
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.
Acknowledgment
ESA SHIELD is an outreach initiative of the European Space Agency, developed in the cooperation project Gaming for Information and Outreach of the Space Safety Programme between Steinbeis Transfer GmbH an der Hochschule Darmstadt (h_da) and the Institute of Flight Systems and Automatic Control (FSR) at TU Darmstadt, under a programme, and funded by the European Space Agency (4000147837/25/D/KS).
