Nine worlds • One speed of light

The level ladder is the solar system.

Every world drives at the real one-way light time of a documented moment. The farther out, the longer each command takes, the rougher the ground and the smaller the science ring. Live distances below are computed in your browser from NASA JPL orbital elements.

  1. 01 Open from the start

    The Moon

    Mare Imbrium · near side

    The only world you drive in real time: no compression, just the light delay. On 17 November 1970, Lunokhod 1 rolled onto this mare, driven live from Earth by a crew who saw the ground in single TV frames. Steer round the craters and stop in the science ring.

    Real one-way light
    1.3 s (Lunokhod 1, 1970)
    Today, live
    1.3 s
    Time factor
    x1, real time
    On screen
    1.3 s
    Science ring
    3.0 m radius
    Drive
    Moon drive

    Real robots here: Lunokhod 1 and 2, Yutu-2, Pragyan

    Driving on the Moon: grey regolith, black sky and the cyan path ahead of the rover.

  2. 02 Open from the start

    Mars

    Jezero crater · science drives

    Your fleet's home. Missions drive at the light time of Perseverance's landing day, 11 minutes 22 seconds each way. Reach the science ring and stop inside it, then take on photo missions that bring pictures home and core drills that seal samples from the target layer.

    Real one-way light
    11 min 22 s (2021)
    Today, live
    11 min
    Time factor
    x170
    On screen
    4.0 s
    Science ring
    2.5 m radius
    Drive
    Science drive

    Real robots here: Perseverance and Ingenuity in Jezero crater; Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity and Zhurong elsewhere on Mars

    Driving on Mars: butterscotch ground in Jezero crater, the cyan path bending round rocks toward the science ring.

  3. 03 24 stars on Mars

    Venus

    Phoebe Regio · 464 °C at the ground

    Thick yellow haze hides the ground ahead. Trust the ghost path, steer round what you cannot see yet and stop in the science ring. Venera 13 survived 127 minutes on this surface in 1982.

    Real one-way light
    3 min 41 s (Venera 13, 1982)
    Today, live
    3 min
    Time factor
    x69
    On screen
    3.2 s
    Science ring
    2.5 m radius
    Drive
    Haze drive

    Real robots here: Venera 13 lander, 1982

    Driving on Venus: yellow haze over pale ground, the cyan path the only clear line ahead.

  4. 04 24 stars on Venus

    Phobos

    The larger moon of Mars · grooved plains

    Mars fills the sky. Cross the grooves, weave round the boulders and stop in the science ring before the drop. The delay is set by the last signal from the Soviet Phobos 2 probe, in March 1989.

    Real one-way light
    14 min 50 s (Phobos 2, 1989)
    Today, live
    11 min
    Time factor
    x211
    On screen
    4.2 s
    Science ring
    2.4 m radius
    Drive
    Groove drive

    Real robots here: Phobos 2, 1989 · the IDEFIX rover on Japan's MMX mission is planned

    Driving on Phobos: grooved grey-brown ground with Mars large in the sky.

  5. 05 27 stars on Phobos

    Ryugu

    Near-Earth asteroid, 900 m wide

    A rubble pile as dark as coal, where the hard terrain begins. Boulder fields hide one clear lane and boulder walls leave one narrow gap: find them and stop in the science ring.

    Real one-way light
    About 16 min (2018)
    Moment
    MINERVA-II hoppers land
    Time factor
    x224
    On screen
    4.3 s
    Science ring
    2.3 m radius
    Drive
    Boulder drive
    • Boulder fields
    • Boulder walls

    Real robots here: the MINERVA-II hoppers and Hayabusa2, 2018

    Driving on Ryugu: coal-dark rubble and boulders crowding the route.

  6. 06 30 stars on Ryugu

    Comet 67P

    Agilkia, then Abydos

    Dark dust over cliffs, jets venting into a black sky. Vents blow when their ring fills, so pass in the lull or steer round. Plan every turn early: from here out, even an autopilot needs a hand on the wheel.

    Real one-way light
    28 min 20 s (2014)
    Moment
    Philae lands, 12 Nov 2014
    Time factor
    x354
    On screen
    4.8 s
    Science ring
    2.2 m radius
    Drive
    Comet drive
    • Vents
    • Boulder fields

    Real robots here: the Philae lander and Rosetta, 2014

    Driving on Comet 67P: charcoal ground and gas jets against a black sky, with the callout VENT AHEAD, WATCH ITS RING.

  7. 07 30 stars on 67P · 1 light-day of range

    Europa

    Moon of Jupiter · ice plains and double ridges

    Cross the ice plain between the double ridges. Cracks swallow wheels, so cross where the ice bridges; vents, walls and boulder fields crowd the rest. Stop in the science ring at the fracture.

    Real one-way light
    37 min 53 s (2030)
    Today, live
    36 min
    Time factor
    x447
    On screen
    5.1 s
    Science ring
    2.1 m radius
    Moment
    Europa Clipper reaches Jupiter, 11 Apr 2030
    • Cracks
    • Vents
    • Boulder walls
    • Boulder fields

    Real robots here: Galileo, 1995 to 2003 · Europa Clipper, arriving 2030

    Driving on Europa: white ice under Jupiter, with the callout CRACK AHEAD, FIND THE BRIDGE.

  8. 08 36 stars on Europa · 3 light-days of range

    Titan

    Moon of Saturn · methane dunes and lakes

    Orange haze over methane dunes, a full hour of light from home. Rockfalls drop a boulder on your path: when its shadow shows, steer round. Stop in the science ring at the shore.

    Real one-way light
    67 min 7 s (Huygens, 2005)
    Today, live
    72 min
    Time factor
    x705
    On screen
    5.7 s
    Science ring
    2.0 m radius
    Drive
    Dune drive
    • Rockfalls
    • Vents
    • Boulder walls
    • Boulder fields

    Real robots here: the Huygens probe, 2005 · Dragonfly is planned

    Driving on Titan: orange dunes and boulders under Saturn, with the callout ROCKFALL AHEAD.

  9. 09 36 stars on Titan · 7 light-days of range

    Enceladus

    Moon of Saturn · tiger stripes and ice geysers

    The brightest, most crowded ice in the solar system, under Saturn and the geysers. Every kind of hard terrain meets here, with the longest delay in the game and the smallest ring. Stop in the science ring at the tiger stripe.

    Real one-way light
    90 min 14 s (2015)
    Today, live
    72 min
    Time factor
    x895
    On screen
    6.0 s
    Science ring
    1.9 m radius
    Moment
    Cassini dives through the plume, 28 Oct 2015
    • Vents
    • Cracks
    • Boulder walls
    • Rockfalls

    Real robots here: Cassini's plume dives, 2008 to 2015

    Driving on Enceladus: bright blue-white ice, geysers and Saturn in the sky.

10 Past the last world

Then there is deep space.

Voyager 1 has no ground to drive. It closes the list as the yardstick your range is measured against: one light-day from Earth. Cross a light-day of range yourself and the game marks deep space as reached.

The Voyager 1 tributeChoose a rover

Missions on each world use their own fixed course seeds, so mission 3 on Europa is the same ground for every driver. Stars never lock you out of anything you have already opened.