Lunar Lander

Lunar Lander Screenshot
  • Lunar Landing
  • Moon
  • Mass

Topics

  • Lunar Landing
  • Moon
  • Mass
  • Thrust
  • Fuel Consumption
  • Gravity

Description

Can you avoid the boulder field and land safely, just before your fuel runs out, as Neil Armstrong did in 1969? Our version of this classic video game accurately simulates the real motion of the lunar lander with the correct mass, thrust, fuel consumption rate, and lunar gravity. The real lunar lander is very hard to control.

Sample Learning Goals

  • Explore how the lunar lander behaves on the moon.
  • Can you measure the value of the moon's gravitational pull?
  • Explore the relation between the force vectors on the lunar lander and the amount of thrust you apply to it.
  • Challenge: how many times can you successfully land the lunar lander in different locations before running out of fuel?
Version 2.04

Teacher-Submitted Activities

Conservation of Energy for Middle School A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines. Jefferson County Middle School Workshop MS Lab Earth Science
Physics
How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? This contribution was designed by PhET. Sarah Borenstein MS Other Earth Science
Chemistry
Physics
Biology
MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment Elyse Zimmer HS
MS
Other Chemistry
Biology
Physics
Solar System pHet Simulations Craig Reuter HS Lab Astronomy
Lunar Lander! Jamie Schoenberger MS Guided
Lab
Astronomy
Physics
Crash! Doug Spicher MS Lab Physics
Lunar Lander/ Fun Game Chris Lierheimer HS
UG-Intro
Lab Physics
Lunar Lander; Let the Force Be With You Richard Polidoro MS Lab Physics
Universal Gravitation Sarah Stanhope UG-Intro
HS
Lab
Newton's Laws and the Lunar Lander sam wheeler UG-Intro
HS
Lab Physics
Lunar Lander Activity Drew Isola HS CQs
Space Cadets Lunar Landing Showdown Michael Poynter HS Lab Physics

Language Download or Run Tips
Arabic All العربية Run now مركبة الهبوط القمرية
Arabic (Saudi Arabia) All العربية (السعودية) Run now مركبة الهبوط القمرية
Basque All Euskara Run now Ilargi-moduloa
Belarusian All беларускі Run now Месяцавы спускаемы апарат
Bosnian All Bosanski Run now MJESEČEV MODUL
Chinese (Simplified) All 中文 (中国) Run now 月球登陆器
Chinese (Traditional) All 中文 (台灣) Run now 月球登陸器
Croatian All hrvatski Run now Mjesečeva sonda
Czech All čeština Run now Lunární modul
Danish All Dansk Run now Månelander
Dutch All Nederlands Run now Maanlander
Estonian All Eesti Run now Kuul maanduja
French All français Run now Alunisseur
Galician All Gallegan Run now Alunizador
German All Deutsch Run now Mondlandefähre
Greek All Ελληνικά Run now Προσγείωση στη Σελήνη!
Hebrew All עברית Run now נחתת ירח
Hungarian All magyar Run now Holdraszállás (játék)
Indonesian All Bahasa Indonesia Run now Pendaratan Lunar
Italian All italiano Run now Navicella lunare
Japanese All 日本語 Run now 月面着陸船
Kazakh All Kazakh Run now ғарыштық тоқталыс
Khmer All Khmer Run now ចុះចត​យាន្តនៅឋានព្រះច័ន្ទ
Korean All 한국어 Run now 달 착륙선
Macedonian All македонски Run now Месечева сонда
Marathi All मराठी Run now चंदावरोहण
Mongolian All Монгол (Монгол) Run now Саранд Газардагч
Persian All فارسی Run now فرود روی ماه
Polish All polski Run now Lądownik księżycowy
Portuguese All português Run now Módulo Lunar
Portuguese (Brazil) All português (Brasil) Run now Módulo de Pouso Lunar
Russian All русский Run now Посадка на Луну
Serbian All Српски Run now МЕСЕЧЕВ МОДУЛ
Slovak All Slovenčina Run now Lunárny modul
Slovenian All Slovenščina Run now Pristajalni modul
Spanish All español Run now Aterrizaje Lunar
Spanish (Mexico) All español (México) Run now Aterrizaje Lunar
Spanish (Peru) All español (Perú) Run now Aterrizaje Lunar
Swedish All svenska Run now Månlandare
Thai All ไทย Run now Lunar Lander
Turkish All Türkçe Run now Aya inis
Turkmen All Turkmen Run now Aýyň üstüne gonýan enjam
Vietnamese All Tiếng Việt Run now Nguyệt xa

Windows Macintosh Linux
Microsoft Windows
XP/Vista/7/8.1/10
Macromedia Flash 9 or later
OS X 10.9.5 or later
Macromedia Flash 9 or later
Macromedia Flash 9 or later

Design Team Third-party Libraries Thanks To
  • Michael Dubson (developer/lead)