Kerbal Space Program gets a shiny new update this very day. Titled Shared Horizons, the simulation game’s latest content drop is all about celebrating the European Space Agency’s contributions towards space exploration – and it’s totally free.
That’s according to a recent press release in which developer Squad and publisher Private Division announce they’ve partnered up with the ESA to bring the new goodies to the game. These include two missions “recreating ESA ventures”, as well as a rocket – the Ariane 5 – and some some ESA-themed space suits for your Kerbals to wear. Plus, there are some new parts and science experiments to try out, too.
“The first new mission, BepiColombo,” the release explains, “will recreate the ESA’s ongoing joint mission between the ESA and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to Mercury. Players will attempt to reach orbit and land on Moho, the equivalent of Mercury in the Kerbal universe, while performing various scientific tasks from the actual ESA mission.” The second is titled Rosetta, and instead pays “tribute to the successful landing on a Jupiter-family comet, an event that enabled the gathering of important data on the comet’s environment.”
This mission is based on real missions from the ESA’s history, and give players the chance to experience them in the game.
Big news, Kerbonauts: We’re partnering with @ESA for the 1.10 update #SharedHorizons!
We’re excited to add two cornerstone missions to the game, BepiColombo and Rosetta. Releasing on PC on July 1st. Coming soon to consoles. More info to come.
#ExploreFarther pic.twitter.com/k1W5QkofRH— Kerbal Space Program (@KerbalSpaceP) May 18, 2020
The Kerbal Space Program: Shared Horizons update heads to the PC game today (July 1) for the low, low price of absolutely nothing. You’ll just need to own the base game to grab it when it arrives.
It's today.
— Kerbal Space Program (@KerbalSpaceP) July 1, 2020
“Here at the European Space Agency,” director of science at ESA, Günther Hasinger, says, “many of our engineers and scientists are very familiar with KSP. Both Rosetta and BepiColombo are highly complex missions that have specific challenges; however, each prove to be very rewarding for ESA and the global scientific community.
“Because of this, I am very happy that these ground-breaking science missions can be experienced on Kerbin as well as on Earth.”