Tetris in space – a Game Boy spent 196 days aboard Mir in 1993
Video games reached orbit as early as 1993, and not through a research program but through a handheld classic in a crew member's luggage.
The first video game in space was Tetris. In 1993 a cosmonaut took a Game Boy running the game aboard the Mir space station, where it stayed for 196 days. GameStar tells the story in a look back at the flight.
Was bekannt ist
The key details are few, and they are clear:
- Game: Tetris
- Device: Game Boy
- Location: Mir space station
- Year of the flight: 1993
- Time in space: 196 days
The Game Boy got there because a cosmonaut packed it. GameStar describes Tetris as the first game to reach space.
The number 196 is the core of the story. It counts the days the game spent in space. This was no brief trip. It was a long stay on a station.
Einordnung
Games and spaceflight have shared imagery for decades. For a long time the link stayed on the screen. The Game Boy on Mir made it literal.
The choice of hardware stands out. A handheld needs no TV and no fixed spot. It fits in a pocket and can be picked up at any moment. That a Game Boy went first fits that logic.
The game fits too. Tetris needs no language, no story and almost no learning curve. A round starts in seconds and can stop just as fast, which suits a tightly scheduled day on a station.
The length of the stay turns an odd piece of trivia into something more. With 196 days on board, the game could be part of daily life on the station for a long stretch. For players, the episode is a piece of media history. In 1993, a video game already had a place in a spacefarer's kit.
Was offen ist
Every detail here comes from a single GameStar report. Which cosmonaut carried the Game Boy, which mission the flight belonged to, and what happened to the device after the 196 days cannot be confirmed without another source. It is also unclear by what standard Tetris counts as the first game in space, for example whether earlier programs on spacecraft computers are left out on purpose.
