Take a break from the rocket science and conduct your own spacewalk.
Like Earth’s astronauts, Kerbals enjoy driving around in their shiny new lunar rover.
Beat NASA to the punch and land a Kerbal on Duna, the game’s equivalent of Mars.
in 2013 to incorporate the Asteroid
Redirect Mission into Kerbal. In reallife, this type of mission is the first of its
kind. It’s purpose will be to identify,
capture, and redirect a near-Earth
asteroid to a stable orbit around the
moon, making it more accessible for
astronauts to explore it and return
samples. It is part of a plan NASA created to advance new technologies
and spaceflight experience necessary to pave the way for a human
exploration on Mars. How does that
translate into the world of Kerbal?
Players are able to use true-to-life,
NASA approved rocket parts. It allows players to work on capturing an
asteroid or changing its trajectory
to prevent it from coming in contact
with planet Kerbin.
WIth realistic missions and such a
broad array of knowledge players
have to gain from Kerbal, it may end
up playing a large role in the ignition
of a passion for many people that
otherwise would have turned a blind
eye to STEM fields. In a time where
too many people think that NASA
operations ended with the termination of the shuttle program, Kerbal
helps to spread the word that space
exploration is still a booming field.
It demonstrates that concepts of
rocket science and space travel that
many think they are not capable of
understanding, are actually attainable. WIth a little work, dedication,
and little green” Kerbonauts” to keep
them company in their virtual adventures, a new generation of rocketry
and space lovers may be an accidental product of Felipe Falanghe’s
dream.
Oh and Bob, my stranded Kerbonaut, he’s going to have to wait
a little longer. Apparently ice-cream
cone shaped rockets aren’t a good
idea. Hope he has something to pass
the time. This might take a while.
Please visit www.rocketstem.org
for more information about Kerbal
Space Program, including video
tutorials and online discussion forums
for this popular educational game.
Author Andrew Groen also contributed to this article. He is presently
writing a book titled ‘Empires of Eve’,
a history of the great empires of
the Eve Online massive multiplayer
online game.
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