• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechScience

NASA’s New Game Lets You Drive a Mars Rover and Search For Water

By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 5, 2016, 6:14 AM ET
NASA's Curiosity rover examines the lower slopes of Mount Sharp on Mars.
NASA's Curiosity rover examines the lower slopes of Mount Sharp on Mars.NASA

NASA has unveiled a free game that lets players try their hand at driving the Curiosity Mars rover.

Curiosity landed in the Gale Crater on the Red Planet four years ago. The game is supposed to get people excited about what the rover is doing now, and also about what its successor will do.

The next rover should go up in 2020. It will be able to use radar to search for underground water—something that’s represented in this game. (What’s not represented is the microphones that will be on board to capture the sounds of Mars.)

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

The game is playable on Android and iOS, and is also available for desktop users. It’s available through the Gamee app, which lets people play games against and share scores with their friends.

“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 of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “The interest that is shared through gameplay also helps us open a door to deeper literacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

The U.S. space agency is also due to launch a virtual reality “Mars 2030 Experience” this fall, for VR viewers such as Google’s (GOOG) Cardboard, Samsung’s (SSNLF) Gear VR and Facebook’s (FB) Oculus Rift.

NASA hopes to be able to send real people up to Mars in the 2030s, though Congress has been working to defund some of its efforts. In the meantime, private companies such as SpaceX want to start sending unmanned spacecraft there in a couple years’ time.

NASA said Thursday that Curiosity is currently investigating the lower slopes of Mount Sharp in the Gale Crater, in an effort to find out more about how terrain with fresh water evolved into the arid landscape there today.

For more on Mars, watch our video.

In its first year of operation, the rover successfully examined what used to be a freshwater lake, helping researchers to establish that it had what was needed to support microbial life.

Here’s a NASA video explaining what Curiosity has been up to more recently:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6t1kxX-EpI?list=PLE8C83FF0367EEF8C&w=560&h=315]

About the Author
By David Meyer
LinkedIn icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

broker
EconomyMarkets
Citadel Securities demolishes viral AI doomsday essay, arguing the real ‘Global Intelligence Crisis’ is ignorance of macro fundamentals
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 26, 2026
8 hours ago
InnovationHome robots
For $20,000, a humanoid robot will do your household chores for you like unloading the dishwasher and watering plants—but it still needs help
By Matty Merritt and Morning BrewFebruary 26, 2026
9 hours ago
instagram
LawSocial Media
As Meta battles addiction claims in court, Instagram says it will start notifying parents of kids searching for suicide or self-harm
By Barbara Ortutay and The Associated PressFebruary 26, 2026
9 hours ago
ebay
LaweBay
Couple who got live insects, bloody pig mask mailed to them reach settlement with eBay
By Leah Willingham and The Associated PressFebruary 26, 2026
9 hours ago
Man speaks on stage
CryptoNvidia
Bitcoin rides Nvidia wave to spike above $70,000 before pulling back
By Carlos GarciaFebruary 26, 2026
10 hours ago
peter thiel
AIskills
Forget the STEM safety net. Peter Thiel warns AI is a bigger threat to technical roles than to creative thinkers
By Jake AngeloFebruary 26, 2026
10 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Innovation
An MIT roboticist who cofounded bankrupt robot vacuum maker iRobot says Elon Musk’s vision of humanoid robot assistants is ‘pure fantasy thinking’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezFebruary 25, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Jeff Bezos says being lazy, not working hard, is the root of anxiety: ‘The stress goes away the second I take that first step’
By Sydney LakeFebruary 25, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Trump claims America is ‘winning so much.’ The IMF agrees, adding that Trump’s trade policies are the only thing holding it back from even more
By Tristan BoveFebruary 26, 2026
9 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Ex–presidential candidate Andrew Yang warns that millions of white-collar workers will lose their jobs within 18 months: ‘The AI jobpocalypse is here’
By Preston ForeFebruary 25, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Gen Z Olympic champion Eileen Gu says she rewires her brain daily to be more successful—and multimillionaire founder Arianna Huffington says it really does work
By Orianna Rosa RoyleFebruary 25, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Jamie Dimon says society should start preparing for AI job displacement: ‘Now’s the time to start thinking about’ it
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezFebruary 25, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.