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Educational Simulations of the Evolution of Spaceflight

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Computer Simulations of Space Societies

Part of the book series: Space and Society ((SPSO))

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Abstract

Most space-oriented educational simulations focus on astronomy and the technology scientists are using to study the universe around us, rather than the associated social interactions and implications. For example, a NASA website offers a limited but high-quality simulation of the Curiosity Rover on Mars, but lacking any representation of the Earth-bound team operating it. Several attempts to create more social simulations that might prepare school children and the general public to understand the human future in space have not achieved their lofty goals. A recent simulation of social organization in NASA and other such organizations, Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager, is quite sophisticated but not popular. Similarly, the beautiful 2017 early-access social simulation of Mars colonization, ROKH, is educationally rich but has attracted very few users. At the other extreme, a popular game describing the biological evolution of a species up through the era of interstellar colonization, Spore, has been criticized for its scientific inaccuracy. These facts should concern advocates for public education concerning the human future in space, and motivate them to seek more successful approaches.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    https://eyes.nasa.gov/curiosity, accessed June 2017.

  2. 2.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebGL, accessed June 2017.

  3. 3.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunokhod_programme, accessed December 2017.

  4. 4.

    https://sociology.princeton.edu/faculty/janet-vertesi, accessed December 2017.

  5. 5.

    https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/parents-and-educators, accessed December 2017.

  6. 6.

    www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0537078; www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0856045, accessed December 2017.

  7. 7.

    www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1047122, accessed December 2017.

  8. 8.

    www.wisdomtools.com/aeroengineer-race-to-mars, accessed June 2017.

  9. 9.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlite_(video_game), accessed June 2017.

  10. 10.

    www.mmorpg.com/games-list, accessed June 2017.

  11. 11.

    www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0137298, accessed December 2017.

  12. 12.

    www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0411846, accessed December 2017.

  13. 13.

    Transformational Play: Using Games to Position Person, Content, and Context (Barab et al. 2010).

  14. 14.

    www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/06/30/remarks-president-signing-executive-order-national-space-council, accessed December 2017.

  15. 15.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Lightyear, accessed June 2017.

  16. 16.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Patrol_(1950_TV_series); https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Kemmer.

  17. 17.

    Dy, Bernard. 2017. Review: Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager, HistoryNet. http://www.historynet.com/review-buzz-aldrins-space-program-manager.htm

  18. 18.

    Salt, Chris. 2014. Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager Review. In SpaceSector. http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2014/11/buzz-aldrins-space-program-manager-road-to-the-moon-review

  19. 19.

    Instruction manual for Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager, pp. 25–26.

  20. 20.

    www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0917520

  21. 21.

    www.facebook.com/rokhthegame, accessed June 2017.

  22. 22.

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/462440/ROKH, accessed June 2017.

  23. 23.

    https://store.steampowered.com/earlyaccessfaq, accessed June 2017.

  24. 24.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_F_Videocarts, accessed June 2017.

  25. 25.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_iodide, accessed December 2017.

  26. 26.

    https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=923530815.

  27. 27.

    www.twitch.tv/videos/152039200, accessed December 2017.

  28. 28.

    https://massivelyop.com/author/mj-guthrie, accessed December 2017.

  29. 29.

    www.twitch.tv/videos/149035853

  30. 30.

    www.reddit.com/r/RokhTheGame; www.facebook.com/groups/1884519868504204, accessed December 2017.

  31. 31.

    https://shop.nationalgeographic.com/product/dvds/science/how-to-build-a-better-being-dvd-exclusive, accessed June 2017.

  32. 32.

    www.spore.com/what/spore, accessed June 2017.

  33. 33.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_game, accessed June 2017.

  34. 34.

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUFLou_d4uw, accessed June 2017.

  35. 35.

    Bohannon, John. 2008. Flunking Spore. Science, pp. 322

  36. 36.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spore_(2008_video_game), accessed June 2017.

  37. 37.

    www.stratigraphy.org, accessed June 2017.

  38. 38.

    https://spore.wikia.com/wiki/Spore, accessed June 2017.

  39. 39.

    https://sto.gamepedia.com/Guide:_The_Foundry, accessed December 28, 2017.

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    William Sims Bainbridge

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Bainbridge, W.S. (2018). Educational Simulations of the Evolution of Spaceflight. In: Computer Simulations of Space Societies. Space and Society. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90560-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90560-0_4

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