What does Mars look like? This game gives a sneak-peek
NASA wants to send humans into deep space, a long-term mission it plans to achieve with a ginormous rocket and revolutionary technologies. However, in order to make this happen, the agency also wants people to see what the future of humanity in space could look like. This can be done with illustrations, but NASA has taken a different approach - video games.
Project Eagle: Blackbird Interactive's digital simulation of Mars' base
Going beyond the idea of publicizing missions via art, NASA has backed the development of Project Eagle, a video game showing the futuristic Mars base it envisions. The agency, as TNW reported, has partnered with Blackbird Interactive, the developer of Homeworld science fiction games, to develop the game and inspire the next generation of space enthusiasts, including astronauts and engineers, about space exploration.
What this game looks like
Set in 2117, the interactive game cannot be described as an exact simulation of future plans, but it definitely uses scientific data, including Mars topography, environment, and assistance provided by NASA, to show the possibilities. It shows that 82 years have passed since the first Mars mission and some 5,000 people are living, mining, and working in a fully-functional Martian colony.
Dome-shaped habitats, reactors, vehicles already active
Among other features, the game shows a humongous habitat, power stations, algae farms, and utility vehicles moving from one point to the other. The entire setup has been developed at the Gale Crater, where the Curiosity Mars Rover landed and discovered evidence of ancient water streams. In the trailer of the game, you also see blue-ish Martian sky and a rocket heading to Earth.
You can try the game now
The Martian colony in the game has been developed by considering all technological and material constraints of building human habitation on the red planet. You can explore the original colony developed after the first human landing on Mars and get information about every structure with a single mouse click. So, if you want to try this, head over to Steam and get the game.
