JEM-EUSO will be the first space observatory to explore the UHECR sky. It will use the fluorescence technique to achieve a 3D-reconstruction of extensive air shower tracks, achieving unprecedentedly large effective aperture and a very uniform exposure in declination. These characteristics will allow precision measurements of the energy spectrum at the highest energies, including the region of a possible recovery, and unprecedented anisotropy studies. Particularly relevant to the latter is the possibility of point source charged particle astronomy leading to a break-through in the research area. Furthermore, the orbital nature of observatory, which forces its crossing of a wide range of geomagnetic latitudes, is ideal for the study of photon induced showers. In this talk we will discuss the scientific potential of JEM-EUSO as an astrophysical instrument and its impact as part of a global experimental strategy for the field.