ActInSpace, at the service of innovation

What is ActInSpace?

ActInSpace is the leading international hackathon in the field of technology applications in the aeronautics and space sector.
Created by the French space agency, CNES (National Center for Space Studies), in 2014, the purpose of this event is twofold:

- Foster the desire to undertake and develop the space economy
- Promote the use of space technologies and data acquired in space to change the lives of citizens

ActInSpace is an opportunity for participants to take up challenges, with the prospect of subsequently setting up a start-up, thanks to the use of patents, technologies and satellite data from space missions, which are made available by CNES, ESA, Airbus and all the partners.

For 24 hours, the multidisciplinary teams, accompanied by experts, will work on issues proposed by various space companies, in order to imagine products and services based on space technologies and data, which will be applicable in everyday life.
The winning teams meet at the national and international finals to present their project to a jury of international experts.
Subsequently, teams are offered the opportunity to take advantage of a support service, Connect by CNES, or to join one of the partner incubators such as ESA BIC's (The European Space Agency's incubator).

The first edition of 2014 took place in France in only 5 different cities. However, in an approach of international cooperation, the hackathon was opened to all during the 2020 edition, to extend to 54 cities, among 32 countries from the 5 continents.

For more information, you can visit the ActInSpace website: https://actinspace.org/

Full Metal Energy, the winners of ActInSpace 2020

For the 2020 edition, six teams (Burkina Faso, Estonia, Argentina, Germany, Australia, France) made up the final group and were able to defend their project.
It is finally the French team "Full Metal Energy" which wins the 4th edition of the international hackathon ActInSpace 2020.

The project consists of generating energy from mineral resources that are present in large quantities on the lunar surface. This would help facilitate the presence of future astronauts on our natural satellite.

This project obviously arouses the interest of industrialists in the area with a view to future colonization projects on the Moon.

The “Full Metal Energy” team thus won the ActInSpace® grand prize: the experience of weightlessness on the Airbus A310 Zero G!



Spacefox, partner of ActInSpace

Spacefox has made it its mission to promote access to science and to make the field of space accessible to all. This is why, quite naturally, we wanted to support the ActInSpace approach.


We thus decided to imagine exclusive uniforms, composed of a bomber jacket and a T-shirt, in collaboration with the CNES, for the teams which organized this competition.


Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 health crisis, the event could not take place face-to-face, but remotely.
The coaches were therefore unable to wear the uniforms during the event, but it is only a postponement for the 2022 edition!



Read also: Spacefox launches a new call for scientific projects

ClimbSpace, The audience award

Continuing its partnership with ActInSpace, Spacefox provided the lot for the Public Prize won by the ClimbSpace team.


The team took up the "Fight for Climate Change" challenge, proposing a project consisting of using satellite imagery to identify and locate, on Earth, the evolution in number and movement of so-called "keystone" species. which have a very strong impact on their ecosystem.

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