Can You Hear Me Now?
TESS: Telecom Engineering Space Simulator
Summary
TESS is the immersive interactive experience that puts you in charge of an interplanetary (EARTH - MARS) communication system, a software designed to resemble the golden era of NASA and space exploration, nodding at MS-DOS interfaces of the late 20th century. Taking inspiration from indie classics such as "Papers, please" and "TIS-100" we are offering a puzzle game where your choices have real impact on a deep branching story that nods at Bowie's desolation portrayed in Space Oddity.
How We Addressed This Challenge
Our project aims to provide an interactive experience that replicates the pressure existent in every choice made by NASA professionals, using real problems to create compelling puzzles that can be solved using an interactive manual based on actual concepts present in real life space engineering applications such as DSN, Delta Dor and even technologies that are in development such as quantum entangled nanossatelites.
When talking about interplanetary communication we are talking about scarcity: messages aren’t instantaneous, there is a lack of bytes going around compared to the data flux present on planet Earth, but we are also talking about a lack of humanity:
We intend to humanize spacial communication by making it clear that talking to Mars isn’t just contacting a cold machine but it could mean affecting a breathing human being, in our games your choices directly affect the human on the other side
How We Developed This Project
To approach the development of this project we organized our ideas using Miro's whiteboard and UX design methods such as Gamefication Canvas and persona analysis to create an interactive experience that uses real life data to simulate how time passes in Earth and Mars. In our game we immerse the player in a branching story where their choices really matter. To help in the player's immersion we used Marmoset Hexels 3 and 3D models offered by NASA to create pixelized sprites of satellites and antennas. We also built a working prototype in Electron.
We created 5 missions were the user will interact with an astronaut on Mars and will solve real problems in a ludic approach. These missions address telecomunication features that already exists and some technologies that are still in development. Our game uses the terminal to create the bond between the user and the astronaut and creates the possibility of building empathy with a person that is miles away. The notification system will be essential. The astronaut package will take at least 20 minutes to arrive at the terminal. Our main missions are:
1 - Introducing DSN
In this mission, we pretend to introduce DSN to the user. First, the user will receive a packet from the astronaut, informing all the spacecrafts that will stay in touch with the DSN's antennas all day. The user must access his specials tools to schedule the transmissions. He must be careful, because a spacecraft is coming to Mars and it has a special priority. After sending the packet to Mars, a terrible accident will happen and the user must redo the schedule, but with less antennas. This mission addresses the function of DSN and the importance of redundance.
2 - I lost my Spacecraft
Our astronaut needs to find a spacecraft that lost connection with Ground Control and the user must help him. The astronaut will send him a desperate message asking for help. There, Earth and Mars create a bond of trust. The user must read the manual and find out about Delta DOR and Doppler Effect. At the Spacecraft logs, the user will find a broken package of the astronaut's lost spacecraft and he must active Delta DOR and Doppler Effect feature at his Tools Menu to find a precise geographic coordinate. Solving a puzzle in the broken package is the key to find out where the spacecraft is. Complex concepts will be introduced here, but the manual will help the user to understand all and the tools segment simplify this.
Here the consequences take place: if the user didn't use redundance in the first mission, he would've lost crucial information to solve this puzzle.
3 - I mean, this doesn't looks right...
After recovering the spacecraft, the astronaut believes that is something's wrong with the spacecraft. Asking a whole lot of questions to the astronaut, the user must try to find out which spacecraft is it and what is its problem. The manual will contain simplified spacecraft's datasheets to help the user to find out that's the problem. These datasheets are based in NASA's fact sheets. But, the user will have a limited time to solve this enigma, because he must talk to his boss about the spacecraft incident. Asking a lot of questions to the astronaut will demand lots of time, because the astronaut's answers will take 20 minutes to arrive on Earth.
4 - I want to access Twitter!
The user will need to develop a communication protocol based in Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) and Optical Communications Physical Layer. This might look complex, but the manual will provide all the information is needed and all the concepts of lossless data compression, WAP, packet protocol and security layers will be introduced in a simplified way. The protocol will be created in mini games and puzzles to make all more fun.
5 - The Quantum Way
Now it's time to implement the concept of quantum entanglement in your network. This will speed up all your internet connecting and will make Earth-Mars connection possible all year. This mission will be essencial to prevent the lack of communication with the astronaut for part of the year. The manual will provide the explanation of the main concepts of Quantum Physics and Quantum Optics.
During all this missions, a envolving history will connect the user and the astronaut show their humanity even without looking at each others face.
How We Used Space Agency Data in This Project
Pixel Arts: To create pixelized versions of satellites and planets we downloaded 3D models offered by NASA and analysed them in order to trully capture their essence and make them fit the game's oldschool aesthetics.
Missions: Our game heavily relies on problem-solving to educate and tell a story, so to make sure we could create interesting situations to challenge the player we designed each mission based on potential real problems that a NASA engineer could face, problems that can be solved using real tools.that the player can read about in The Manual.
The Manual: Your main tool. The Manual contains information based on real life NASA data about Mars, Earth, DSN and many other topics, browsing the Manual can give you vital info about the tools needed to get the job done.
Time: Our game simulates the process of sending a message to Mars, taking latency into account and calculating the passage of time on both planets.
Communication Protocols: To understand communication protocol challenges approached in the later missions, the user will have to check its manual to be able to actually develop a communication protocol for Mission 4.
Project Demo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-9lE2PwpgM
Project Code
Data & Resources
Our Miro board: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_kkFTJIc=/
Report based on Google Forms: https://github.com/Math-42/NasaSpaceApps/blob/master/assets/TESS_Report_for_NASA.pdf
https://public.ccsds.org/review/default.aspx
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/About_delta_DOR
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/services/networks/deep_space_network/about/
https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21131
https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/
https://ionicframework.com/docs
https://tabletopaudio.com/index.html?185&126&112&61&41
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/mars/overview/
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Application_Protocol
https://olhardigital.com.br/ciencia-e-espaco/noticia/cientistas-produzem-entrelacamento-quantico-em-nano-satelite/102769