Don’t worry, this is not a political editorial. 

By now you’ve probably heard Republican Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich’s comments last week that by the end of his second term in office (provided he’s elected and re-elected) there will be an American base on the moon. If you didn’t hear Newt’s comments last week, The Atlantic has a piece on it right now.

Newt Gingrich’s comments and the aforementioned article in The Atlantic made me think about NASA’s role-playing game Moonbase Alpha. Moonbase Alpha is an online game developed by NASA to be played on the Steam online gaming platform. Moonbase Alpha a simulation game in which players assume the role of an astronaut working to repair equipment in order to restore oxygen delivery to a settlement on the moon. The game can be played by up to six players at a time who communicate using voice over communication.

See the trailer for Moonbase Alpha in the video below.

Applications for Education
Put a classroom discussion of Newt Gingrich’s comments together with Moonbase Alpha and you might have a nice little lesson covering both Civics and Space Science.