Try (and fail) to land the Space X Falcon 9 with this video game
It really is crazy-hard to land the Falcon 9 rocket on a floating platform without completely screwing it up.
I'm personally responsible for blowing up 93 Falcon 9 rockets. It's a good thing they're fictional rockets inside an online Flash video game called SpaceX Falcon 9 Lander.
SpaceX, a private space-exploration company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has had some setbacks in its quest to build a reusable rocket that can land back on Earth on top of a floating platform. The most recent issue in late June was an explosion shortly after launch. A landing attempt in April ended with the Falcon 9 at an odd angle and the rocket exploding.
The lander game will give you a new level of sympathy for the difficulty of the task. You attempt to slow the unmanned rocket and land it on a platform at the same time. You will fail. Over and over again.
The game is a remix of a Lunar Lander game by Dixiklo, a contributor to Scratch, a site where users can share interactive stories and games. Scatch is run by the MIT Media Lab. The SpaceX version was released on September 15.
There are two stages, one at sea and one on land. It doesn't matter which you try. You will blow up your rocket. But, like SpaceX, you must not give up. The game isn't completely programmed against you. It is possible to safely land your rocket and bask in a brief moment of glory. It just might take you a few billion dollars worth of rockets to get there.
(Via Reddit)