NASA 'Astronaut' MMO aiming for iOS, PC beta Titled "Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond," the official NASA MMO is set in the year 2035, and takes players to Mars, the asteroid belt, and the outer planets. The beta is planned for iOS and PC release in December 2012.

NASA'a plans to make an educational space MMO may finally turn into reality. Titled "Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond," the official NASA MMO is set in the year 2035, and takes players to Mars, the asteroid belt, and the outer planets. "You will uncover secrets about a threat to civilization as we know it, and build you and your team a high-tech inventory of space gear including a home base, somewhere out there," the pitch reads.

The developers at Project Whitecard are calling Astronaut a "once-in-a-lifetime project." While there are ambitious plans to release both an iOS and PC beta--running on Unreal Engine 3, nonetheless--the team has a speed bump to overcome. The team needs money.

To fund development, the developers are using Kickstarter, a crowd-sourced fundraising service. Contributors will all receive access to the beta, scheduled for December 2012, along with a variety of other bonuses. Access to the beta will be granted with a minimum $10 donation.

Whitecard is looking to raise at least $50,000 through Kickstarter, and notes that a "matching government tax credit" will match all donations up to $700,000. Unfortunately, the project has only received about $4,000 worth of pledges so far, placing NASA's plans to virtually send us to space on shaky ground.