Travel Across Our Solar System
Pilot the research vessel SES Horizon on a mission to visit the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, classified as a planet until 2006, and the Sun. Learn about the planets. Manage your fuel.
The game works on desktop, tablet and mobile, adapting to your screen size.
How to Play
Starting Out
Your mission begins in orbit around Earth. The game loads automatically. Look for the cockpit window showing Earth rotating slowly in front of you, with a dark instrument panel framing the view.
Three things are visible from the start:
- The HUD bar: across the top of the cockpit, showing your current location, speed, fuel level, and score.
- The Destination bar: a row of labelled planet buttons below the HUD. The Sun sits at the left, Pluto at the far right. Your current location is highlighted and cannot be selected.
- The Navigation map: a small solar system overview in the bottom corner showing your ship’s position and all available destinations.
Travelling to a Planet
Select any destination using either the Destination bar or the Navigation map. Your ship will pull away from the current planet, engage the engines and arrive in orbit around your chosen destination. Each journey deducts fuel. Plan your route carefully, especially for the long hauls to the outer solar system.
Reading Planet Information
After arriving, a planet information panel slides in automatically. It contains key statistics, scientific facts, details of any moons, and a captain’s log entry from Commander A. Vance of the SES Horizon. Tap or click the ✕ Close bar at the top of the panel to dismiss it, or press Escape.
Quizzes
A quiz question appears shortly after each arrival. Choose from four multiple-choice answers. You will see the correct answer and an explanation afterwards, whether you answered correctly or not. Answering correctly earns points, and a correct answer streak earns bonus points.
Managing Fuel
Your ship starts each session with a full tank. Fuel is not carried over between visits. Every session starts fresh. Collect refuels by arriving at planets: Earth restores 40%, every other destination restores 20%. The further from Earth you travel, the more fuel each leg of the journey costs.
Destinations
There are 10 destinations to visit, ranging from the Sun at the centre of our solar system to Pluto at the edge of the Kuiper Belt. Each has its own animated SVG artwork, scientific data panel, quiz question, and captain’s log entry.
| Destination | Type | Visit Score | Fuel from Earth |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Sun | Star | 400 pts | 28% |
| Mercury | Terrestrial planet | 200 pts | 15% |
| Venus | Terrestrial planet | 200 pts | 10% |
| Earth | Terrestrial planet (start) | ||
| Mars | Terrestrial planet | 300 pts | 12% |
| Jupiter | Gas giant | 350 pts | 30% |
| Saturn | Gas giant | 400 pts | 36% |
| Uranus | Ice giant | 450 pts | 42% |
| Neptune | Ice giant | 500 pts | 48% |
| Pluto ★ | Dwarf planet | 600 pts | 58% |
★ Pluto is the highest-scoring destination. Reaching it requires careful fuel planning. See the route tips below.
Featured Moons
Nine moons have dedicated artwork and detailed information panels. Open a planet’s information panel and tap any moon name to read about it.
- The Moon (Earth): Tycho Crater, mare plains, Apollo landing sites
- Phobos (Mars): Stickney Crater, groove fracture system
- Deimos (Mars): smooth dusty surface, visible as a star from Mars
- Io (Jupiter): the most volcanically active body in the solar system
- Europa (Jupiter): ice shell, reddish crack network, subsurface ocean
- Ganymede (Jupiter): largest moon in the solar system, bigger than Mercury
- Callisto (Jupiter): most heavily cratered surface anywhere, Valhalla Basin
- Titan (Saturn): methane lakes, dense atmosphere, the most Earth-like moon
- Charon (Pluto): half Pluto’s size, Mordor Macula polar cap, binary system
Scoring
Planet Visits
Points are awarded once per planet on your first visit each session. Returning to a planet earns a small 25-point revisit bonus.
Quizzes
| Correct answer | Points |
|---|---|
| Easy question | 50 pts |
| Medium question | 100 pts |
| Hard question | 150 pts |
| Streak bonus: 3 in a row | +25 pts |
| Streak bonus: 5 in a row | +50 pts |
| Streak bonus: 10 in a row | +100 pts |
Achievement Badges
Each badge unlocked adds bonus points to your total. Badges range from 75 points (First Contact) to 1,000 points (Solar System Surveyor). See the full list in the Achievements section below.
Fuel Planning Tips
With 100% starting fuel and intelligent routing, it is possible to visit every destination in a single session.
- Visit Earth last among the inner planets: returning to Earth always gives +40% fuel, more than any other stop.
- Hop outward through the outer planets rather than skipping: travelling Saturn → Uranus → Neptune costs far less than jumping straight from Saturn to Neptune.
- Suggested Pluto route: Earth → Mars (+20%) → Jupiter (+20%) → Saturn (+20%) → Uranus (+20%) → Neptune (+20%) → Pluto. The incremental refuels keep the tank high enough for the 58% Earth-to-Pluto jump spread across legs.
- Fuel Efficient badge tip: Travel Earth → Venus (+20%) → Mercury (+20%) → Earth (+40%) before heading outward. Arrive at Jupiter with at least 50% remaining to unlock the Fuel Efficient badge.
Achievement Badges
There are 17 badges to earn across five categories. A notification slides in from the left whenever a badge is unlocked. Progress is saved between visits.
Exploration
| Badge | How to unlock | Points |
|---|---|---|
| First Launch | Leave Earth for the first time | 100 |
| Sun Seeker | Visit the Sun | 250 |
| Inner Worlds Explorer | Visit all four inner planets | 300 |
| Outer Worlds Pioneer | Visit all four outer planets | 500 |
| Kuiper Belt Pioneer | Brave the outer reaches and visit Pluto | 600 |
| Solar System Surveyor | Visit every planet, including Pluto | 1,000 |
Knowledge
| Badge | How to unlock | Points |
|---|---|---|
| First Contact | Complete your first planet quiz | 75 |
| On a Roll | Answer 5 questions correctly in a row | 200 |
| Pluto Scholar | Answer a Pluto quiz question correctly | 200 |
| Quiz Ace | Answer 10 questions correctly | 250 |
| Deep Knowledge | Answer a Hard difficulty question correctly | 300 |
Piloting
| Badge | How to unlock | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel Efficient | Reach Jupiter with 50% or more fuel remaining | 400 |
| Swift Horizon | Visit 4 planets in a single session | 500 |
Discovery
| Badge | How to unlock | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Historian | Unlock 5 mission log entries | 200 |
| Moon Watcher | View information on 5 moons | 250 |
| Binary World Observer | View information on Charon, Pluto’s giant moon | 200 |
Achievement
| Badge | How to unlock | Points |
|---|---|---|
| High Scorer | Reach 2,000 total points | 500 |
Controls
| Action | Mouse / Touch | Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| Travel to a planet | Destination bar button or map dot | |
| Open planet info panel | Tap planet or ℹ button in HUD | Enter |
| Close planet info panel | ✕ Close bar at top of panel, or tap viewport | Escape |
| Answer a quiz question | Tap an option | 1, 2, 3 or 4 |
| Continue after quiz | Tap Continue | Enter |
| Skip quiz | Escape | |
| Open / close navigation map | Map icon in HUD | N |
| Toggle HUD | H |
About the Science
Planet statistics, moon data, quiz questions, and captain’s log entries are based on data from NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Pluto content draws on findings from the New Horizons spacecraft, which made its historic flyby on 14 July 2015. The only mission ever to visit the Kuiper Belt.
All distances, temperatures, and orbital periods are approximate and intended for educational purposes. Fuel costs in the game are not physically accurate. They are scaled for playability while reflecting the relative distances between bodies.