Lunar Lander Is an Indie DEF CON 27 Badge That’s Out of This World

DEF CON 27 is only a few months away, and that means hackers all around the world are gearing up for the biggest computer security and hacking conference of the year. There is, of course, going to be a lot to do at DEF CON, including presentations, workshops, hacking challenges, and games. But the most fun part of the conference is showing off your badges, and the Lunar Lander Badge is going to be one of the coolest ones this year.

The Lunar Lander Badge recently completed its run on Kickstarter, surpassing its $7,500 campaign funding goal. Like everything else in the #BadgeLife, the Lunar Lander Badge is a wearable device on a lanyard that’s intended to be hackable and expandable. DEF CON 27 will take place just weeks after the anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the Moon, so the space program will be a major theme of this year’s conference. The Lunar Lander Badge is designed to celebrate that momentous occasion.

The badge is, as you’d expect, shaped like a stylized lunar lander like the one from the classic Lunar Lander Atari arcade game. A clone of that game is the main feature of the Lunar Lander Badge, and it includes a second game where you handle the command module while the lander goes off on its mission. The badge is built around an ESP32 module, and is equipped with a LiPo battery, LCD screen, and a V.1.69bis SAO (Shitty Add-On) port. There are even built-in social capabilities for sharing game scores.