Gravity Atlas · Player guide
Gravity Atlas guide: launch, orbit and score
Gravity Atlas is a free browser spaceflight puzzle with 30 levels. Launch a probe from Ember, use gravity to shape its path, and settle into an orbit around Haven.
By Small Hours · Updated
Set angle and launch power
Drag the glowing handle around the probe to set its departure angle. The angle slider offers the same control with a mouse or keyboard. Moving the handle aims the probe; releasing it holds your setting.
The vertical power slider sets initial launch speed. At zero power there is no launch impulse. More power changes travel time, approach speed and the timing of a moon encounter. It does not fire a continuous engine during flight.
Change one control at a time when experimenting. An angle adjustment changes the approach geometry. A power adjustment changes the energy you bring to that approach.
What happens on arrival
Gravity bends the probe’s path throughout the journey. A finite automatic insertion burn helps remove arrival energy and settle the probe into orbit. This assistance has a fuel limit, so reaching the planet at any speed does not guarantee capture.
Aim past the planet’s edge rather than directly at its centre. You need enough sideways motion to go around Haven, with an approach that clears the surface and leaves the insertion engine a manageable correction.
How the 18-second score works
Once a safe orbit is acquired and any required gravity assist is complete, an 18-second assessment begins. Pausing stops the assessment. A crash or losing the safe orbit fails the attempt.
During the check, the score measures the orbit’s size, circularity and how far its estimated closest or farthest point extends outside the marked scoring band. Those measurements are averaged over the assessment. The score is rounded to five-point increments, up to 1,000.
Complete the assessment at or above the displayed cutoff and you pass. There is no separate band-based rejection. Small excursions reduce the score gradually; larger or longer excursions cost more. A score of 800 earns two stars and 930 earns three.
The 30-level campaign
| Levels | Chapter | Points to pass |
|---|---|---|
| 1–5 | Departure | 600 |
| 6–10 | Navigation | 600 |
| 11–15 | Economy | 650 |
| 16–20 | Slingshots | 680 |
| 21–25 | Precision | 720 |
| 26–30 | Deep space | 760 |
Later missions vary launch gravity, insertion fuel and target orbits. Tighter scoring bands make imprecise arrivals more costly. Many missions require a moving-moon assist as well as a passing orbit score.
Level one shows a full trajectory projection. Levels two and three shorten it; later levels leave the curve to you. Flight-plan hints are available in the first ten levels.
Improve a personal best
Passing unlocks the next level. You can replay an unlocked level to improve its score and stars. Only the best passing score for each level contributes to the campaign total, up to 30,000 points. A weaker replay does not lower that total.
Open Levels to check your save status. Best scores are saved locally and backed up on the server with an essential cookie. A retained cookie can restore missing local progress. Clearing all site data, private browsing or changing devices can start a separate save.