The OPS-SAT-1 DOOM experiment is featured in Nature! The article explores how DOOM has become a surprising tool for science: from improving AI models and studying the effects of video games on memory, to neurons in a dish learning to play the game, E. coli bacteria displaying its frames, and, of course, running it on a satellite in orbit.
The piece highlights how DOOM’s open-source code and small footprint have made it a go-to platform for creative research across disciplines. Other games like Minecraft and World of Warcraft have also been used in science, but DOOM holds a special place thanks to the “Can it run DOOM?” subculture that keeps pushing researchers and developers to find new and unexpected ways to run the game.
Ólafur and I were interviewed about our OPS-SAT-1 experiment, where we modified DOOM’s code as a fun way as a fun way to experiment with continuous in-orbit regression testing onboard a satellite’s payload computer as well as an experiment sandbox for practical applications of machine learning:
“Their experiment showed it was possible to continuously run software tests on a satellite that was in orbit to check whether it still works, a concept that was totally unexplored.”
I also shared my thoughts on the role of outreach in space science:
“Outreach is existential to space agencies, so the headlines and attention we get from saying ‘it runs Doom’ are invaluable.”
Fieldhouse, Rachel. “How the classic computer game Doom became a tool for science.” Nature, 13 Mar. 2026. doi: 10.1038/d41586-026-00813-4.
A big thank you to Rachel Fieldhouse for the interview and resulting article, it was a fun experience. Big kudos to my research partner and co-experimenter Ólafur Waage!
Explore the project on GitHub and, as Ólafur would say, “Never stop learning.”