[brightcove video="1426035658001" /]
How much do you know about the NASA space program, Earthling?
NASA has launched a multi-player Facebook game to test just that. Space Race Blastoff poses a series of surprisingly tough questions -- for example, who launched the first liquid-fueled rocket? -- that cover a range of space-related topics including history, technology and science. There's even a pop culture category.
Users play the game by choosing an avatar then answering a series of 10 multiple-choice questions. They can compete with other players or just play solo. Players can also earn additional points if they are able to correctly answer bonus questions following the initial 10-question round.
NASA released the game through Facebook to leverage the social network's massive audience and make the game something players could enjoy with friends.
"Space Race Blastoff opens NASA's history and research to a wide new audience of people accustomed to using social media," David Weaver, NASA's associate administrator for communications, said in a press release. "Space experts and novices will learn new things about how exploration continues to impact our world."
Space Race Blastoff is NASA's first multi-player online game, but the agency has a history of adeptly using social media to connect with the public. In September, NASA announced plans to invite 150 of its Twitter followers to a "tweetup" event at a live spacecraft launch. A number of astronauts have active Twitter accounts as well; Ron Garan, or Astro_Ron, even has more than 88,000 followers.