---
title: Lunar Lander
tags:
- gravity
- space
years:
- '1979'
params:
  image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s0.png
  specs:
  - label: year of release
    value: '1979'
  - label: companies
    value: Atari
  - label: type
    value: game
  - label: media
    value: arcade cabinet
  - label: systems
    value: Arcade
  - label: number of players
    value: 1 player
  - label: staff
    value: Rich Moore (programing)
  screenshots:
  - title: title screenthe big squares at the bottom are the different missions (levels) available
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s0.png
  - title: ok, first let's choose a landing site
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s1.png
  - title: beware of this lunar mount
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s2.png
  - title: this is a difficult landing site but worth 5x points
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s3.png
  - title: landing successful!
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s4.png
  - title: ok, let's try an easier landing spot
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s5.png
  - title: oops, landed hard...
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s6.png
  - title: third attempt, with not much fuel left
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s7.png
  - title: I went too far
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s8.png
  - title: yeah, did it again!
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s9.png
  - title: with no fuel left, the lander crashed
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunarlander_s10.png
  - title: ''
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunar-lander_cab_1.jpg
  - title: cab detail
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunar-lander_cab_2.jpg
  - title: Service Manual
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunar-lander_service-manual_1.jpg
  - title: Marquee
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunar-lander_marquee_1.jpg
  - title: control panel
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/arcade_lunar-lander_cp_1.jpg
  machines:
  - /museum/misc-arcade-video-games
  company: /companies/misc
  oc_id: 333
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230207061326/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/software_detail.asp?id=333
    date: '2023-02-07'
---

From the original manual:

"Lunar Lander (TM) is a one-player coin-operated electronic game that simulates landing a manned spaceship on the moon. Various video-display phrases indicate score, time elapsed during the mission, fuel units consumed, altitude above the moon, and horizontal and vertical speed. The fuel consumption and both speed readings are important for the player to determine how to land the craft. Realistic engine rumble and crash sounds accompany game play. A high beep warns of an almost-depleted fuel supply, whereupon players can add coins to automatically extend the game and "fill up" their fuel tanks. Depending on the quality of the landing or the crash, various messages are displayed on the screen."

Lunar Lander was the first Atari vector game, making use of their brand new "XY video game" technology. Vector graphics enabled impressive rotation and zoom effects not possible with raster tehcnology. This, coupled with a nice thruster control and impressive reactors sound effects made Lunar Lander a great gaming experience.

This Atari hit was in fact inspired by **Moonlander**, an early computer game designed by Jack Burness in 1973 that ran on the DEC GT40 graphics terminal (typically downloaded from a PDP-10 mainframe computer).