NASA Releases Unreal Engine MMO Preview Demo

Last year we learned that NASA was working on an Unreal-engine powered MMO game called Astronaut: Mars, Moon, and Beyond. It's partly a recruitment tool to get the younger generation interested in space exploration and research, much like the aims are with America's Army.

The final version of the NASA MMO isn't out yet, but released this week is Moonbase Alpha as a free preview. You've got nothing to lose, so grab it on Steam if you've always wonder what it'd be like to be a space cadet.

In Moonbase Alpha, you assume the exciting role of an astronaut working to further human expansion and research. Returning from a research expedition, you witness a meteorite impact that cripples the life support capability of the settlement. With precious minutes ticking away, you and your team must repair and replace equipment in order to restore the oxygen production to the settlement.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
  • braneman
    interesting... not enough people want to be astronauts these days.
    Reply
  • Ciuy
    Yeah, exactly what we need. Its time to take over the Galaxy !!!!!!
    Reply
  • mlopinto2k1
    That completely freaked me out.
    Reply
  • Fusion777
    Music is way too epic for what you know is gonna be a slow and steady MMO
    Reply
  • babachoo
    LOL this game looks like terribly programmed propaganda, just like America's Army.
    Reply
  • marraco
    Soil particles removed by wheels are wrongly rendered. They should move faster (no air resistence), and contrails should being wider, because of the lower gravity.
    Reply
  • halls
    Cool idea, I guess...but what's the point of this game? Looks like a very slow-paced Farmville on the moon. What are we trying to accomplish?
    Reply
  • Zoonie
    Will there be anomalies and bases on the dark side of the moon?
    Reply
  • geossj5
    fusion777Music is way too epic for what you know is gonna be a slow and steady MMO
    lolll exactly what i was thinking
    but really its a game by NASA the quests will most likely revolve around collecting rock samples
    Reply
  • mattclary
    So, we pretty much have no space program, yet we need to recruit astronauts?
    Reply