Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak is the sand-swept strategy affair that Rob Zacny once branded a "great tactical RTS with all the gorgeous aesthetics and atmosphere of the original series." Its developers, Blackbird Interactive, teased a handful of early screens from its next project earlier this year, and has now revealed it's also working with NASA to create an interactive model of Mars in Gale Crater.

Set in 2117, 44 Martian years/82.8 Earth years after the first human mission to Mars, the project—named Project Eagle—lets users explore a hypothetical Mars colony established at the base of Mount Sharp (close to the landing site of the Mars Curiosity Rover) and marks a collaboration between the devs and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Aiming to "inspire new generations to dream of human settlement" on the Red Planet, Project Eagle will be presented live on stage by the JPL's Dr Jeff Norris tomorrow at the DICE Summit 2017. Blackbird's Aaron Kambeitz and Rob Cunningham will also help present.

"It’s been a profound honour and pleasure for us here at Blackbird to work with Jeff and the JPL team to dream up what a future base on Mars might really be like, and to deliver that experience as interactive art,” says Cunningham.

More information on Blackbird and NASA's Project Eagle presentation, and the DICE Summit itself, can be found in this direction.