Kerbal Space Program update .23 hits Tuesday, December 17th

Kerbal Space Program has announced the full schedule for Kerbal Kon , the birthday celebration for the in-development exploration game, which starts tomorrow. In addition to showing details for changes to the game's science and career modes, developer Squad will also host streams from some of KSP's most popular YouTube personalities and former NASA astronaut Ed Lu. The action will start tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. central time, and the .23 update will come down to players next week.

New features coming to .23 will include a major revamp to the science research system that will make long-term research installations more rewarding. Under the current system, sending a single mission to each planet and planting a flag allowed players to gather all of the data they needed by repeating experiments over and over. The new system will prevent endless repetition of experiments and encourage the building of long-term science stations.

Astronaut Ed Lu is most widely known for his work with the B612 Foundation, a non-profit working toward a comprehensive defense system against planetary impact by rogue asteroids. “They're interested in getting their message out to a likeminded fanbase,” said Squad developer Anthony Guzzardo of working with Lu. “Our community and the people that they've been trying to aim for go hand in hand, so it's a natural fit.”

Check out Kerbal Space Program's Twitch channel tomorrow morning for a full rundown on the coming update and Squad's plans for KSP in the coming year.