"is a game and a crowdsourcing experiment
run by the Advanced Concepts Team of the European
Space Agency aimed to improve the methods for
designing interplanetary trajectories. We do not
claim that computers are not able or are particularly
bad at solving such problems. Rather, we think
that 'watching' humans design complex interplanetary
trajectories can be of help to improve the intelligence
of computer algorithms"
"This is a nice javascript webpage
where a probe is shot from Earth to Jupiter
with gravity assists at Venus (twice), Earth
and Mars. You try to achieve the lowest propulsive
delta vee. You decide when the spacecraft
arrives at each encounter and the program
basically calculates the rest."
"you'll experience the thrill of
conducting NASA repair work on the International
Space Station. After negotiating your way through
the airlock, you, the astronaut, will be tasked
with jobs critical to help power up the space station
so it can continue to operate. First take your time
to explore the station, but then it's time to get
to work. You'll have to move quickly and carefully,
with a limited quantity of oxygen you must complete
your Extravehicular Activities (EVAs) and get back
into the airlock before your air supply runs out.
This video game features simulations of actual EVAs
conducted by NASA astronauts on missions to provide
power to the space station. The graphics used in
this game are based on real NASA missions and incorporate
3D graphics used by the Agency."
SolarPop SolarPop is an online Java space colony simulator
created by J. Craig Cleaveland (craig@thuntek.net). It
is hosted by the First
Millennial Foundation, which is dedicated to space
colonization.
Galaxy32.com
"Find the 10 Planets, and win a Holiday in Space".
A treasure hunt game in which the grand prize is a trip
to space on a suborbital rocket ship. This game is free
to play with no registration.
SpaceStationSim
- Vision Videogames
This game provides a realistic simulation of the Intervational
Space Station while also provide a fun and playful world
in space:
SpaceStationSim puts you in charge of creating
the greatest wonder of the modern world, the International
Space Station! Man's greatest engineering achievement
in space... More than just a model – now you can create
and manage your own living spaceship and crew!
It was developed in cooperation with NASA, though this
took quite a bit of effort to arrange as described in
this interview.
Geography
From Space Quiz
Test your remote sensing skills with this image analysis
quiz presented by the National Air & Space Museum
as part of its annual Geography Awareness Week activities.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to play Go for
Launch!, but if your not careful you could become
one! The Go For Launch! board game shows you how to
prepare a Space Shuttle for launch as you journey
through: Deep Space, Early Rocketry, Mercury, Gemini,
Apollo, Apollo-Soyuz, Sky-Lab, Astronomy, Planetary
Exploration, Space Shuttle, Mir Space Station, Space
Spin-Offs and more!
This game is fun for the whole family and great for
classrooms. The Go For Launch! board game depicts
Complex 39 of the Kennedy Space Center as it exists
today. It is designed for one to four players or teams
of players. The players can be assigned as Shuttle
Commanders, Pilots and Mission Specialists. Each player
obtains their mission instructions from the Commander/Pilot
check list. The board game consists of nearly 500
full color photo question and answer cards (T or F
and Multiple Choice), four plastic Shuttle game pieces,
a pair of dice, instructions and category divider
cards. The game takes the players from the landing
strip through Space Shuttle Processing, Launch, Low
Earth Orbit and back to Kennedy Space Center.
In the near future, nanofacturing techniques will
allow incredible new materials to be built atom by
atom. But they can only be built in the zero-gravity
and high-vacuum conditions in space. Various private
and government enterprises race to establish a buckytube
mechanosynthesis factory on a suitable carbonaceous
asteroid. To do so, they accumulate tanks of water
in orbiting fuel depots, to be used as rocket propellant.
Also needed are remote-controlled robonauts to do
the grunt work.
The key to success is water in LEO (low Earth orbit).
At first, water will be expensively supported out
of the deep gravity well of Earth. But for a third
the fuel and energy, water can be supplied from Luna,
the moons of Mars, or other nearby hydrated objects.
Extracting resources at the work site is called In-Situ
Resource Utilization (ISRU). Whoever develops ISRU
technology able to glean water from space rather than
Earth will gain the strategic high ground to make
money through exoglobalization.
Monopoly Game: U.S. Space Program
Edition
In honor of NASA's 40th anniversary, play this space
version of the famous Monopoly
game. Other info from USAOPLOY, 1935 Camino Vida Roble,
Carlsbad, CA 92008, 1-888-656-7306.
"Mission I.S.S. is a game for 2 to 4 players
based on the development of the International Space
Station. Easy to learn, and fun to play, each player
takes the role of one space administration and attempts
to be the first to complete and launch the modules
they are responsible for. There is only one problem,
everyone else wants to be first too... Game comes
with 74 cards 2 to 4 players.. ages 8 and up.. Game
time ranges from 15 minutes to 1 hour"
"Let's be clear about what 6 Billion™ is about.
It is not about humanity's future on Earth, and it
does not propose that the colonisation of space is
the solution to over-population on Earth. 6 Billion™
is about humanity's future in our own solar system.
It uses exponential growth, via popualtion doubling,
to explore this future. Or, to put it another way,
humanity's future is measured in people, and not time.
Why design a game that does this? Because it gives
people a new, original, and (hopefully) inspiring
view of our future as a race. It's a long-term view,
that is true. So, don't expect a short-term view in
6 Billion™ ..." Article
at Per Ardua Ad Astra
Mars
2020
Awarded a Best Toy award by Parents Magazine, this board
game (see the catalog
page) from Aristoplay
is for kids 8 and older.
"Choose a spaceship and sign on as your favorite
crew member. Then zoom around the orbital path from
Earth toward Mars. You'll repair malfunctions by answering
questions on space related science and technology.
If all systems are "go" you'll then need to be the
first to land on Mars to win! It won't be easy: Mars
is a moving target, orbiting swiftly on its path."
- Aristoplay
Moonshot Gallatic Attic
offers this detailed and historically accurate game
for 1-4 players that lets you be the first to the moon.
The first edition was limited to 5000 copies and will
be a collectors item. Includes a 180 card deck that
features NASA photos and info. Available
at Just Games
"rummy type card game that is fun and challenging.
Take a tour of the Solar System as you race to be
the first player to complete The Grand Tour by exploring
all nine planets and their moons. Learn about the
planets, moons, and the myriad of strange and wonderful
objects that share our neighborhood in space, while
you play. Play it by yourself or with up to three
of your friends. The game combines elements similar
to some of your favorite card games, like UNO®, and
Solitaire, into a unique format that is out of this
world fun! It is easy to play and provides hours of
educational fun for all players. Recommended for ages
8 and up"
"ASTROPLANE® is a fun game of strategy, logic,
and competition. It’s easy to learn and fun at any
level of expertise!
Formulating strategies, players maneuver their astroplane
spaceships thru Hyperspace, Wormholes and other astrophysical
phenomena with the goal of controlling travel thru
a Black Hole at the center of a galaxy. "
