Lunar Horizons: Epic Games and ESA simulate building a moon base in “Fortnite”

Moon base in “Fortnite”: In collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Hassell Design Bureau, Epic Games developed a game mode for the popular online shooter in which players can build a permanent base on Earth's satellite.

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The “Fortnite” game mode called “Lunar Horizons” is a third-person building game that, according to YouTube playthroughs, can be completed in about 20 minutes. Players have to find raw materials and build infrastructure in the Unreal Engine environment. Tasks are supplemented by educational conversations with virtual astronauts.

The mini-game depicts a hypothetical future in which humanity wants to build a permanent lunar base at the Moon's south pole. Since areas of the moon are in permanent shadow, it's possible that there would be ice useful for building bases, explains Jules Grandsire of the European Space Agency in an accompanying video posted by Epic Games.

Basic experimental design

The design of this moon base has just that The design was designed and presented by Hassell Design Bureau in January. Hassell worked with anthropologists, psychologists, and astronauts on this concept. According to the design studio, it can accommodate approximately 150 people. Players can now see exactly what this should look like in “Fortnite: Lunar Horizons”: Epic Games has digitized the original models that Hassell designed for the European Space Agency and made them buildable via the mini-game.

Like Fortnite itself Lunare Horizons can be played for free -The only requirement is that you have an Epic Games account. It is part of a series of mini-games developed by Epic Games that can be downloaded and played in the “Fortnite” environment.

It will take some time before there is a permanent moon base outside of the popular game. The United States wants to send people to the Moon in the coming years as part of the Artemis program and eventually establish a permanent presence there.

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