NASA launches online space telescope game

GREENBELT, Md., April 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it has launched an online game about telescopes, featuring NASA's spacecraft and the James Webb Space Telescope.

The game -- called "Scope it Out!" -- includes an introduction to telescopes and four matching games in which users compare simple telescopes to both Webb and the Hubble Space Telescope.

"This is a great way to teach children and adults on how simple and complex space telescopes work," said Anita Krishnamurthi at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

The game is designed for middle school students and above.

"There are five levels of gaming in 'Scope it Out!' game from Level Zero to Level Four," NASA said. "Level Zero gives a basic lesson in telescope optics through animated graphics. Level One is where the matching game starts, by asking the player to find the seven components in the simple telescope that match with those in the Webb telescope. The game culminates in Level Four where players have to find the components of the Hubble Telescope that match up with the James Webb Space Telescope. "

The game -- created at NASA Goddard by Maggie Masetti, with Krishnamurthim, Kent deVillafranca and Susan Lin -- is available at http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/scope.html.