exploration

Metroidvania games reward exploration and ability acquisition. Metroid and Castlevania defined genre where new abilities open new areas.

December 1972: Apollo 17 landed at Taurus-Littrow, returning 110.5 kg of samples and conducting 22 hours of moonwalking—the most scientifically productive lunar mission.

Orbit demands about 7.8 km/s of sideways speed, the Moon is 384,000 km away, and Mars is at least 55 million km. Here is the physics of getting to space, the history of exploration, and where Artemis, Starship, and Mars stand as of October 2026.