Save humanity’s first lunar settlement in Moonbase Alpha
July 20, 2010
BY BILL FERRIS
Forty-one years ago today, man first set foot on the moon. Could Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin have known that less than half a century later we’d all be living on cities on the moon, driving flying cars to work?
Until science catches up with science fiction, your students can still get excited about the space program and science with Moonbase Alpha, a 3-D multiplayer game from NASA. Moonbase Alpha puts students in the role of astronauts living on the first human base on the moon (hence the name). A meteorite has debilitated the life-support system, and they’ve got 25 minutes to fix it before everyone runs out of air. At their disposal are various robots, tools, and replacement parts to once again make the base fully operational.
If it sounds like a big task, kids don’t have to go it alone. They can team up with friends and collaborate on how best to get the base ship-shape.
The graphics are top-notch, down to the loping, low-gravity astronaut walk. I found the controls a little clunky, but in gamer years I’m pretty old, so your students may do better.
Moonbase Alpha is a great way to get kids interested in science, astronomy, and the space program. Even if you can’t find time for it in class, it’s fun enough that kids may want to play (and learn) on their own time. Moonbase Alpha is a free download, but to run the game students will also have to download the online-game platform Steam (also free). They’re big downloads, but the game is well worth the wait.
Moonbase Alpha via NASA
Related stuff
Relive the Apollo 11 mission at We Choose the Moon
Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing with Google Moon
NASA giving away free Journey to the Stars DVDs to educators
