Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECRs) offer a unique chance to study the universe at energies inaccessible by man-made accelerators. Observations by ground based observatories have clarified several characteristics of these particles, but their origin, nature, and acceleration mechanisms are still unclear, mostly due to their extremely low flux. Space-based observatories have the potential for an increase in statistics, up to several orders of magnitude, and would be able to cover the whole sky, allowing for a direct comparison of spectra and direction of arrival, but the detector design poses several formidable technical challenges. The JEM-EUSO program has been addressing this problem, trying to open the road of space-based UHECR observations. Several missions have already been completed (on the ground: EUSO-TA; with stratospheric ballons: EUSO-Balloon, EUSO-SPB1 and EUSO-SPB2; in space: TUS[1], MINI-EUSO). Others are under study (K-EUSO) or proposed for the next decade (POEMMA)[2]. In this work we report on the status of the JEM-EUSO program and the technology developed so far.