NASA Releases Sector 33 App for iOS

From your iOS device, scan the QR code above (using any QR code app) and you will be sent to the App Store where you can start downloading the Sector 33 App.

Description

Welcome to Sector 33! – A new air traffic control mobile game for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be an Air Traffic Controller? Imagine it’s a stormy Friday in Northern California as the evening rush of air traffic fast approaches the San Francisco Bay Area from the East. All flights going to San Francisco airport pass through “Sector 33” – your sector of airspace. As the lead air traffic controller, your job is to guide the planes safely through Sector 33 as quickly as possible. To do this, you must choose the most efficient route and make strategic speed changes. Can you handle Sector 33?

The Sector 33 app is:

• A companion app to the Smart Skies classroom product, LineUp With Math.
• An air traffic control game designed to interest students in aeronautics-related careers.
• Designed to connect mathematics and problem solving to the real world.

Features

• 35 problems featuring two to five airplanes
• Speed and route controls
• Weather obstacles
• Four levels of controller certification
• In-game introduction, hints, and help section
• Extra videos

Screenshots

Game

Videos

Download

The Sector 33 App can be downloaded free of charge from the App Store.

An Android version of the app is in development and will be made available in the Android Marketplace in the coming months.

In the game the player acts as an air traffic controller guiding airplanes through a sector of airspace spanning Nevada and California. The player can adjust the planes’ path and speed to safely reach certain spots in the sky in the fastest time possible while keeping the planes a specific distance from each other.

“Our hope is that Sector 33 will give students a sense of the importance of math in managing our nation’s air traffic and, at the same time, interest them in pursuing a career in aeronautics,” said Jaiwon Shin, NASA’s associate administrator for aeronautics research in Washington.

The math-focused game also aligns with the NASA Office of Education’s mission to engage students in activities related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“Today’s students respond positively to experiential learning,” said Leland Melvin, NASA’s associate administrator for education. “Using an interactive game to spark their interest, while at the same time teaching them fundamental math concepts, is a win-win scenario. It is a perfect way to help cultivate the next generation of engineers and technologists.”

Sector 33 is based on Smart Skies Line Up With Math, an educational software title developed under the direction of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and distributed in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Smart Skies has been used in middle school classrooms across the United States since 2005.

For more information about aeronautics research at NASA, visit:

http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov 

For more information about NASA’s education programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education 

Application Support

Please email: arc-dl-mobile@mail.nasa.gov