NASA hoping to recruit new talent with Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond

In an effort to attract new and younger talent to its ranks, NASA has come up with a new strategy: Using video games to give people a chance to get a glimpse of outer space.

NASA believes that there are many teenagers who have the talent for a successful career but probably have never been in contact with the work that is actually done there. That is why they are joining forces with three different developers: Virtual Heroes (America’s Army), Project Whitecard and Wisdom Tools.

Using NASA’s knowledge and technical expertise the developers are working on a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) that will allow players to engage in space exploration in a more realistic fashion. Astronaut: Mars, Moon and Beyond will allow players to visit Mars and see Spirit and Opportunity going about their business or see the Moon and look at the footsteps of astronauts (and all the gear they left there).

The game is also intended to help develop teamwork and efficiency and will allow players to join a team to tackle the problems of space colonization or to embark on a solo exploration mission to the ends of our solar system.

One of NASA’s main concerns was that the game be fun and engaging so it is leaving most of the creative decisions to the developers. They intend for the game to be as much a source of entertainment as a means to exposing people to the science that is done at NASA and act as a recruiting tool for younger people with interest in engineering and mathematics.

I’m sure the game isn’t going to include big action sequences or shootouts and some people will probably find that boring but the premise is interesting. It would be awesome to be able to work with people from around the world in building a base on Mars or exploring Europa and I’m sure that it will spark the interest of anyone mildly interested in space. With NASA’s data used to create realistic environments this could end up being an amazing tool.

MoonBase, the first module for the game, will be released as a free download in January 2010, while others will be added later in the year.

Read [Edge Online] Site [Astronaut: Mars, Moon and Beyond]