[meteorite-list] Angry Birds Space

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 8 Mar 2012 09:03:42 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <201203081703.q28H3gWl014253_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

March 8, 2012

Bob Jacobs / Joshua Buck
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600 / 1100
bob.jacobs at nasa.gov / jbuck at nasa.gov

Sini Matikainen
Rovio Entertainment, Espoo, Finland
+358400214526
media at rovio.com

RELEASE: 12-076

THE EPIC STUGGLE BETWEEN BIRDS AND PIGS MOVES TO SPACE WITH A NASA SCIENCE TWIST

WASHINGTON -- For nearly three years, millions of gamers have used
physics in the battle between birds and pigs in the video game Angry
Birds. In cooperation with NASA, Finland-based Rovio Entertainment,
creator of the Angry Birds franchise, announced its newest game,
"Angry Birds Space," on Thursday, March 8. NASA and Rovio are working
together to teach people about physics and space exploration through
the internationally successful puzzle game.

Game developers have incorporated concepts of human space exploration
into the new game. From the weightlessness of space to the gravity
wells of nearby planets, players use physics as they explore the
various levels of the game set both on planets and in microgravity.

"This collaboration began with a simple Twitter exchange about birds
and pigs in space, and it has grown into a tremendous outreach and
education opportunity," said David Weaver, associate administrator
for communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Games are fun
and entertaining, but they also can be inspirational and informative.
This ongoing collaboration with Rovio and Angry Birds is an exciting
way to get people engaged with NASA's missions of exploration and
discovery, and get students energized about future careers in science
and technology."

Aboard the International Space Station, Flight Engineer Don Pettit of
NASA created a video using Angry Birds Space to explain how physics
works in space, including demonstrating trajectories in microgravity
by catapulting an Angry Bird through the space station. The video was
shown this week to an audience at the South by Southwest Conferences
and Festivals, an annual convention of original music, independent
films, and emerging technologies in Austin, Texas. It is also
available on NASA's website at http://www.nasa.gov.

"We focused on every detail in development of Angry Birds Space to
build a special experience for our fans," said Peter Vesterbacka,
chief marketing officer and mighty eagle of Rovio Entertainment. "I
believe we have succeeded well with the game, and we wanted to create
something as unique around our launch events. NASA has been the
perfect partner for our Angry Birds Space program, and we can't wait
to work with them on creating more compelling educational
experiences."

For more information on microgravity, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/microgravity

For more information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

For more information about Angry Birds Space, visit:

http://www.angrybirds.com/space
        
-end-
Received on Thu 08 Mar 2012 12:03:42 PM PST