Lunar Lander: Land Softly Physics Game
Fire the engine and tilt the lander to touch down softly on the pad, on the Moon, Mars or Earth.
Land softly on the green pad. Hold Up / W / Space to fire the engine and Left / Right (A / D) to tilt. On a phone, hold the buttons under the controls. Land slowly, upright, on the pad.
About the Lunar Lander: Land Softly Physics Game
Free lunar lander: land softly physics game. Fire the engine and tilt the lander to touch down softly on the pad, on the Moon, Mars or Earth. Drag, change the sliders and see the result live. No sign-up, works on phone and computer. Built for physics, the lunar lander: land softly physics game runs instantly in your browser: change a setting or drag an object and the result updates at once, so you learn by trying things out rather than only reading about them.
Fire the engine and tilt the lander to touch down softly on the pad, on the Moon, Mars or Earth. Use it to explore physics ideas at your own pace, then check what you found against the key ideas further down this page.
How to use the Lunar Lander: Land Softly Physics Game
- Use the controls to change World, Engine power (× gravity), Touch controls (hold). The simulation reacts instantly.
- Pick an option such as Moon (1.6), Mars (3.7), Earth (9.8) to switch modes or load an example.
- Press "◀ Tilt", "▲ Engine", "Tilt ▶", "New landing" to start, reset or change what is happening.
- Where you see a glowing handle, object, weight or atom, drag it with your mouse or finger. Everything responds in real time.
- Watch the readouts and graphs update as you experiment, and compare what you see with the key ideas below.
Things to try
- Land on the Moon with under 30 percent fuel used.
- Try Mars, then Earth, and raise the engine power to compensate.
- Land on the pad with less than 1 m/s falling speed.
- Try to land with zero sideways speed.
Key ideas you can learn
- Gravity pulls the lander down at a steady rate, so its downward speed keeps growing.
- Engine thrust gives an upward acceleration that can slow the fall.
- Tilting the lander sends some of the thrust sideways.
- Weaker gravity, like on the Moon, makes soft landings easier and uses less fuel.
Where this is used in the real world
SpaceX booster landings, the Apollo Moon landings and Mars rovers all needed exactly this control of thrust, tilt and fuel.
Who is this simulation for?
Physics students in middle school, high school and first-year university, teachers who want a quick demonstration for the projector, and anyone revising for exams. It works well for flipped classrooms because students can explore before the lesson.
For teachers: project it on the board, let students predict what will happen, then run it together. For students: change one thing at a time and write down what changes.
Frequently asked questions
How do rockets land softly?
They fire the engine to slow the fall so the speed is small at touchdown, while keeping the rocket upright.
Why is it harder on Earth?
Gravity is six times stronger than on the Moon, so more thrust and fuel are needed to cancel it.
Is the Lunar Lander: Land Softly Physics Game free to use?
Yes. It is completely free, with no signup, no download and no ads inside the simulation. It runs in your web browser.
Does the Lunar Lander: Land Softly Physics Game work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. It uses touch as well as the mouse, so you can drag objects with your finger. A larger screen makes the controls easier to see.