In the past, NASA has used everything from websites and mobile apps to coverage on its own TV network to get the public excited about its space exploration efforts. But the run-up to the planned August 5 landing of the Mars rover “Curiosity” includes the organization’s first foray into the world of console game development.
Mars Rover Landing, available this week as a free download on the Xbox 360, was inspired by “the entirely factual and amazing sequence of events to land Curiosity on Mars,” Jeff Norris told Ars (Norris is the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab manager for planning and execution systems). Using the Kinect, players help adjust the landing module’s angle as it enters the Martian atmosphere, handle timed explosive charges to discard the heat shield, and deploy a parachute before applying thrusters to gently touch the rover down on the Martian surface (that last bit is in a mini-game somewhat reminiscent of the arcade classic Lunar Lander). It’s not the most complicated game on the market, but it does a good job of showing just how many things have to go exactly right to land a robot on another planet.
In real life, that entire automated process takes place during what NASA engineers refer to as “seven minutes of terror” when the Rover is unable to communicate with Earth. While NASA had previously detailed that sequence in a dramatic video from earlier this year, the organization felt there might be better ways to get the public involved in the story.
from Ars Technica