Will Wright is speaking at NASA's upcoming Yuri's Night Celebration in the Bay Area this Saturday.

Yuri's Night is an annual celebration of space exploration. On April 12th, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human being in space, orbiting around the Earth once during a 108-minute flight. Exactly twenty years later, on April 12th, 1981, the United States launched their first Space Shuttle into space.

Wright will be joined at the public event by a variety of scientific speakers, artists and musicians. The developers talk will focus on astrobiology, the history of the Russian space program and Spore. The game will also be on display.

Back when I was at the Palm Beach Post I was actually one of three reporters who helped cover shuttle launches. Watching a shuttle literally push itself away from the Earth and rip through gravity's pull is probably one of the most amazing things I've seen in my life.... and there was swag. No lie, NASA actually had a little kiosk set up at every launch selling shit. I think it was because all of the visiting general and dignitaries always wanted shirts and hats to give to their kids. So funny.

Yuri's Night