The Artemis program is NASA’s plan for returning humanity to our closest cosmic neighbor, the Moon. This time, though, the idea isn’t just to make brief contact and conduct exploratory surveys; it’s also to establish a sustained lunar presence.
Alongside humanity’s increased interest in reaching for the Moon, space-based games have seen a spike. One of these games, Moonbase Alpha, is supported and published by NASA.
In this simulation, NASA astronauts have landed on the lunar surface with the goal of colonization, research, and further exploration. Shortly after returning to the Moon, the astronauts established Moonbase Alpha, a small outpost on the lunar South Pole. Utilizing solar energy and regolith processing, the moonbase has become self-sufficient, and plans for further expansion are under way.
Players of Moonbase Alpha form a team and assume the role of astronauts working to further human expansion and research. Returning from a research expedition, the Moonbase astronauts witness a meteorite impact that cripples the life support capability of the settlement. With precious minutes ticking away, the astronaut team must repair and replace equipment to restore the oxygen production to the settlement. Team coordination along with the proper use and allocation of available resources (such as player-controlled robots, rovers, and repair tools) are key to their overall success. Players can successfully restore the life support system of the lunar base in several ways, but since they are scored on the time spent to complete the task, they have to work effectively as a team, learn from decisions made in previous gaming sessions, and make intelligent decisions in order to top the leaderboards.
The Moonbase Alpha simulation was created by the Army Game Studio in conjunction with NASA Learning Technologies. Students can download the game for free on STEAM. They can also download NASA’s free Moonbase Alpha Game Manual for guidance installing and launching the game.