GoKawiilYou may not be able to explore the vast majesty of space in the same way that the four-person crew of the Artemis II is, but you can get an up-close-and-personal view of the spacecraft during its lunar slingshot…in Fortnite, at least.
The Lunar Horizons Fortnite map is a creative collaboration between the game's creator, Epic Games, and the European Space Agency. While the map was originally released in 2024, it will soon be the location of a digital recreation of Artemis II's lunar flyby right now -- a complicated maneuver that has sent human beings farther from Earth than they've ever been before.
The recreation is happening in conjunction with the real deal, and intrepid Fortnite players can watch as the spacecraft slingshots around the celestial rock using the moon's own gravitational pull.
Aside from the in-game event, the Lunar Horizons map is an educational simulation of the surface of the moon's South Pole.
It blends game mechanics with learning, as players get to build up their own sterile lunar habitat bases, interact with ESA astronauts and roll around with robotic rovers as they discover informative plaques that contain information about the moon and international space agencies. There are still dangers to navigate, too -- a solar storm may strike when you least expect it.
If you're interested in the Fortnite flyby, we've got all the information you need to join the fun below. And if you're looking for a more serious livestream during this momentous human achievement, tune into NASA's feed here.
You can build a lunar base and escape solar storms as you wait for the Artemis II flyby in Fortnite. Epic Games/Screenshot by CNET
How to join the Moon Fortnite island and watch the Artemis II mission pass by
The Lunar Horizons Fortnite map is hosting the Artemis II flyby, but it's also a great educational simulation that shares details about the ESA's work and catalogs information about humanity's lunar research.
These three simple steps will get you up and running (or more accurately, taking slow leaps and bounds) on the surface of the Lunar Horizons Fortnite map:
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