NASA is planning to release an MMO in 2010 titled Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond. It looks like it will be primarily based on exploration and designed to get people interested in what NASA hope to achieve in the near future, which has the potential to help with recruitment but also acts as a powerful marketing tool — similar to what American’s Army did.

The game is set in 2035 and will adopt the Unreal 3 engine, allow user generated content and feature a leveling system. The developers have access to all of NASA’s digital assets which should make for some interesting simulation-based game play.

If you’re looking for a space based MMOs there seems to be a flurry coming to marketing with Jump Gate Evolution, Star Trek Online and the EVE expansion Apocrypha, pretty.

Microsoft invests in to Dubai airport

Dubai has gone through massive changes in the last few years and every time I visit it’s almost like visiting a new city. Microsoft have just announced they plan to install an entertainment facility in the airport, which I will no doubt attempt to make use of next time I’m there. They are installing their surface technology, which will be the first in the UAE. It will also include gaming stations, with Xbox 360s and a custom made racing simulator.

A piece of news I couldn’t help mention — Dubai airport holds a special place in my memory. There was the first time I moved out of Australia in 2002 where I got stuck at immigration and had to convince them I didn’t need a return flight because I had a work sponsorship waiting (which I didn’t). Then there was the time I waiting outside at 5am while a friend got stuck in muslim immigration, she had to wait while they watched all the video tapes in her bag before they’d let her in to the UAE. And even a few years ago sitting on the floor in an over crowed hall typing emails on the way back from my sister’s wedding as I watched the rain form over the city — in a city where I thought it never rained.