Space Game Jam 99: When Creativity Meets Space Technologies in Service of the Earth

CLS is proud to support the Space Game Jam 99, an ambitious initiative led by the Fondation de l’Espace, bringing together students, experts, and key players from the space ecosystem around a shared objective: putting creativity at the service of our planet.

From April 10 to 19, 2026, this unique event invites more than 200 participants to imagine and develop innovative video games inspired by space technologies and their applications for Earth.

A new way to connect space and society

Space Game Jam 99 stands out as the first game jam entirely dedicated to the space sector, with a strong ambition: making space more accessible, tangible, and understandable through interactive experiences.

The concept is simple yet powerful: bring together students from diverse backgrounds—developers, designers, storytellers, scientists—and challenge them to collaboratively design a video game in just 10 days.

Beyond the technical challenge, the event conveys a key message: space is not only a field of exploration, but above all a tool for understanding and preserving our planet.

Today, the vast majority of space applications are Earth-focused: environmental observation, climate analysis, ocean monitoring, and risk management.

“Mission Earth”: a theme at the heart of today’s challenges

This edition revolves around a central theme: “Mission Earth”.

Participants are invited to explore major environmental and societal challenges, including:

• Living well-being and biodiversity
• Climate and shared resources

The objective is to translate complex scientific issues into engaging interactive experiences that can raise awareness among a broad audience.

Through gaming, participants make abstract challenges more tangible and highlight the connections between space data and everyday life—whether it’s understanding ocean health or anticipating natural phenomena.

A collaborative and multidisciplinary experience

By nature, a game jam is an intensive and collaborative format where multidisciplinary teams create a project within a limited timeframe.

Space Game Jam 99 takes this further by fostering interactions between:

• students and emerging talents
• scientists and engineers
• space experts
• video game professionals

Throughout the event, participants are supported by mentors who help bridge creativity and real-world applications.

CLS: leveraging space data for innovation

Our mission is clear: “For the Earth, from space”. Supporting Space Game Jam 99 is a natural extension of this commitment. Every day, we leverage space data and advanced technologies—signal processing, artificial intelligence, big data—to address major challenges:

• ocean observation
• climate monitoring
• sustainable fisheries management
• maritime safety
• energy sector support
• environmental protection
• sustainable management of natural resources

These same technologies can also fuel creativity and inspire new approaches, particularly among younger generations.

Supporting the talents of tomorrow

As part of this event, CLS is pleased to contribute its expertise through mentorship.

Fabien Lefevre, oceanographer and Head of Altimetry Applications at CLS, supports participants as a thematic mentor, providing scientific and operational insights to guide their projects.

Inspiring new narratives around space

Beyond the challenge, Space Game Jam 99 helps transform our perception of space.

Often seen as distant or abstract, space is in fact a critical tool to observe, understand, and protect our planet.

What’s next?

Projects developed during these 10 days will be evaluated by a jury, followed by an awards ceremony in July 2026 at the Cité des Sciences in Paris, during the Assises du NewSpace.

CLS congratulates all participants and looks forward to discovering the ideas and innovations that will emerge from this edition.

The partners of Fondation de l’Espace