Port of Mars
How can we best sustain healthy human communities in space?
Some of the thorniest challenges of human space exploration aren’t technological. They’re social. We’re seeking solutions by engaging the public in the scientific process. And we’re making it fun. Port of Mars is a game-based social science experiment designed to discover answers to the question: How can we best sustain healthy human communities in space? Players are citizens of an early Martian community charged with working together to provide for the sustained welfare of the settlement. All player behavior is tracked and recorded. We analyze this data to examine what behaviors and group dynamics tend to produce success, and what tends to produce failure. Each instance of gameplay is a simulation, a modeling exercise for future human space communities. Our goals: – To produce new knowledge useful to stakeholders in space exploration and other fields – To create a fun, engaging game – To engage the public in actively solving problems.
Project link: Website
Project goals
- Produce new knowledge useful to stakeholders in space exploration.
- Create a fun, engaging game.
- Engage the public in actively solving problems for the future of humans in space.