NASA Rolls Out New ‘Mars Rover’ Game To Mark Curiosity Rover’s 4th Anniversary

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has reportedly rolled out a new game to mark the Curiosity rover's fourth year on the Red Planet, Mars on August 6 2016. The game, dubbed "Mars Rover" will let players drive a rover through rough Martian terrain.

NASA has developed the "Mars Rover" game in collaboration with the GAMEE game-player network. The free game for computers and mobile devices requires gamers to search for underground water, which the rover detects when passing above the point where water exist using radar. Players get points every the rover finds water, reported PC Mag.

The game's plot to search for water deposits mimics the space agency's next Martian rover, set for a 2020 launch, which will utilize the Radar Imager for Mars' Subsurface Experiment (RIMFAX) to find the water resource beneath the Red planet. The color of the sky in the game appears peach same as the actual color of Mars' sky. The Martian sky appears peach in color because of tiny reddish dust particles floating around. The skies can even turn rust or even brown during dust storms which could mean less energy for a solar-powered rover, reported Phys.org.

It is to be noted that Mars is referred to as "The Red Planet" because of its reddish tint in the night sky. The planet is mostly rust-colored because of the iron in its soil. When the iron gets exposed to the small amount of oxygen in the Martian atmosphere, it oxidizes, or rusts. That 'rusty dust' as it blows into the air, turns the sky a peach color.

"We're excited about a new way for people on the go to engage with Curiosity's current adventures on Mars and future exploration by NASA's Mars 2020 rover too," said Michelle Viotti, manager of Mars public engagement initiatives at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"Using social networks, the user can share the fun with friends. The interest that is shared through gameplay also helps us open a door to deeper literacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics." The "Mars Rover" game is available for iOS, Android and desktop. Did you download the new "Mars Rover" game? Let us know in the comments below.