Space Lab

Seven advanced experiments — the real methods scientists and engineers use to plan missions, find distant planets, and read the Universe. Change the settings, run each one, and watch the concept come to life.

1. Design-a-Mission Planner

Real missions do not fly in straight lines — they coast along a curved path and must launch only when the planets line up. Pick a target and plan the trip.

Choose a target above.

Δv ("delta-v") is the total change in speed a mission must supply — a good measure of how "hard" a trip is. Values are approximate, from real missions.

2. The Gravity Well

Einstein showed that heavy objects curve the space around them, and things nearby roll along that curve — what we feel as gravity. Add mass and watch the dip deepen, bending a passing path.

Mass

3. The Rocket Equation

Why can't we just add more fuel to go anywhere? Because fuel has to lift its own weight too. This is the rocket's hardest law. Slide the fuel-to-ship ratio and watch the top speed — and its stubborn limit.

Fuel vs ship

4. The Habitable Zone (Search for Life)

Life as we know it needs liquid water — not boiling, not frozen. Around each star there is a "just right" band called the habitable zone. Set the star and the planet's distance, and see if water could stay liquid.

Star brightness

Planet distance

5. Exoplanet Transit Detector

How do we find planets around other stars, when they are far too faint to see? We watch the star's brightness. When a planet crosses in front, the star dims a tiny bit. Press play and read the dip.

Planet size

6. The Expanding Universe

Galaxies are rushing apart — not through space, but with space itself, which is stretching. As it stretches, light from far galaxies is stretched too, shifting towards red. Slide cosmic time forward.

Cosmic time

7. Spectrum Decoder

How can we know what a distant star is made of, without ever touching it? Split its light into a rainbow. Each element leaves its own pattern of dark lines — a chemical fingerprint. Tap an element to see its lines.

Tap an element to read its fingerprint.