Gravity Orbit
Aim, charge and launch a probe so planetary gravity bends its path into the wormhole.
Rocket Landing
Guide a small lander onto flat pads on a string of moons. Touch down slowly and upright, save fuel for the next landing and aim for the small pads that pay more.
Controls
| ↑, W or Space | Fire the main engine |
|---|---|
| ← → or A / D | Rotate the lander |
| P or Esc | Pause / resume |
| R | Restart |
| THRUST button | Fire the main engine |
|---|---|
| ◀ ▶ buttons | Rotate the lander |
On touch screens a control pad appears below the game. You can show or hide it with the Touch pad button above the game.
How to Play
- Press Start Game. The lander starts high above the terrain and gravity immediately begins pulling it down.
- Hold thrust to slow your fall. The engine pushes in the direction the lander is pointing, so tilt slightly left or right to move sideways, then straighten up.
- Watch the instrument panel: vertical speed, horizontal speed and angle each say OK or TOO FAST (TILTED for the angle).
- Touch down with both feet on a flat pad while all three readings say OK. Landing anywhere else, too fast or too tilted destroys the lander.
- After a landing you fly to a new moon with new terrain and a different gravity. Your remaining fuel comes with you. You have 3 landers.
Objective
Make as many landings as possible and pick valuable pads. The run ends when all three landers have crashed.
Difficulty progression
Moon 1 uses the lowest gravity, starts you close above the wide x2 pad with no sideways drift, and has gentle terrain. On every following moon the gravity is random but trends higher (up to about three times Moon 1), the terrain gets more jagged, all pads get narrower, and the lander starts with more sideways drift. The safe landing limits stay the same on every moon.
Scoring
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Landing | Pad multiplier × (100 + fuel bonus) |
| Fuel bonus | Your remaining fuel percentage, e.g. 60% fuel = +60 |
| Pad multipliers | x2 (wide), x3 (medium), x5 (narrow) |
| Example | x5 pad with 60% fuel = 5 × 160 = 800 points |
Your personal best is stored only in this browser. Scores are for fun and are not official records.
Tips
- Start braking early. A long, gentle burn uses less fuel than falling fast and slamming the engine at the last moment.
- Kill sideways speed high above the ground, then descend straight down over the pad.
- Short taps of thrust are enough to hold the vertical speed under 15 once you are close to the pad.
- Read the gravity value in the panel at the start of each moon. On heavy moons you need to start braking much higher.
- The x5 pad is worth two and a half times the x2 pad, but only if you land. Take the wide pad when fuel is low.
- Remaining fuel is both your score bonus and your safety margin for the next moon, so avoid hovering.
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About Rocket Landing
Rocket Landing is a patient game. Instead of dodging or shooting, you manage three numbers at once: how fast you are falling, how fast you are sliding sideways and how far the lander is tilted. The instrument panel labels each one OK or TOO FAST, so you always know which one needs attention.
The physics are simplified for arcade play. Gravity is a constant downward pull that differs from moon to moon, and the engine pushes along the lander's nose. Real spacecraft deal with far more complicated forces, but the core idea that thrust must fight gravity and that tilting trades lift for sideways motion carries over. A full tank holds about twenty seconds of engine burn and it has to last across several moons. If a lander crashes, the replacement starts on the same moon with at least 40% fuel.
Categories: Rocket Games, Planet Games. Rocket Landing is an original game made for Space Arcade Games. Its gameplay is arcade-style and fictional, not a scientific simulation (see our disclaimer).
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a safe landing?
Both landing feet must be on the same flat pad, vertical speed must be under 15, horizontal speed under 10, and the lander must be tilted less than 15 degrees. The HUD shows OK next to each value when it is within the limit.
Does fuel refill after a landing?
No. Fuel carries over from one moon to the next. The only exception is after a crash: the replacement lander starts with at least 40% fuel, or more if you still had more.
Why do the smaller pads give more points?
They are harder to hit. The narrow pad multiplies your landing score by 5, the medium pad by 3 and the wide pad by 2.
How does gravity change between moons?
Moon 1 always has the lowest gravity, shown as 1.0x. Each later moon picks a random gravity that tends to be higher the further you get, up to about 3x.
What happens if I run out of fuel?
The engine stops working and the lander falls. Unless you are already slow and above a pad, it will crash and you lose one of your 3 landers.