In 1979, Atari released Lunar Lander, engineered by Howard Delman and Rich Moore. It was Atari's very first vector-graphics arcade game!

Instead of fantasy physics, the game is built entirely on real Newtonian mechanics: gravity constantly pulls your lunar module down toward the rocky moon surface, and you must fire your retro-thruster rockets to slow down for a gentle touchdown!

Coordinates, Gravity & Safe Landing

The lunar sector is a 2D Cartesian plane ($600 \times 400$):

• Width ($x$): $0$ to $600$ pixels (left to right). The landing pad is centered at $x = 300$.
• Altitude ($y$): $0$ at the top, increasing downward toward the green landing pad at $y = 360$.
• Gravity ($g$): Constant downward acceleration of $24\text{ px/s}^2$ pulling the lander down.
• Main Thruster ($a_T$): Produces $70\text{ px/s}^2$ of thrust in the direction the lander is pointing. When pointing straight up, net upward acceleration is: $$a_{\text{net}} = a_T - g = 70 - 24 = 46\text{ px/s}^2$$
• Safe Landing Criteria: To touch down safely on the pad, your downward speed $V_y$ must be less than $1.5\text{ m/s}$ (about $30\text{ px/s}$), and your tilt angle must be within $10^\circ$ of vertical. Touch down too fast and the lander crashes!

Controlling Your Lander with Code

Instead of twitch arcade joystick controls, you program flight commands:

• lander_game(n): Initializes deterministic Sector #$n$. Every run with game #$n$ produces 100% reproducible physics!
• thrust(seconds): Fires the main retro-rocket for seconds (e.g. thrust(1.5)).
• turn(deg): Tilts the lander by deg degrees. Positive turns right, negative turns left.
• turn_to(deg): Sets the lander to an absolute angle ($0^\circ$ is straight UP).
• wait(seconds): Coasts / free-falls under lunar gravity without burning any fuel.
• aim(x, y): Points the lander directly toward coordinate $(x, y)$.

Move the mouse over a dotted box for more information.

• Live Telemetry HUD: The instruments at the top display your altitude, vertical speed ($V_y$), lateral speed ($V_x$), tilt angle, and remaining fuel gauge.
• Safe Speed Guide: If your downward velocity is safe for touchdown ($V_y \le 1.5\text{ m/s}$), the indicator glows bright green! If you are falling too fast, it turns red.
• Manual Flying: You can also pilot with the keyboard: ← / → to rotate and ↑ to burn thrusters!