Mission IX: Hyperspace
This year's Space Game theme is Mission IX: Hyperspace with the tagline Citius Est Futurum, meaning the future is faster. The UCF HyperSpace Center, in partnership with the U.S. Air Force, stands on the forefront of hypersonics and space propulsion research. This technology allows for air travel at speeds of Mach 6 to 17, meaning six to 17 times the speed of sound, or more than 4,600 to 13,000 mph; it means going from New York to London in less than 15 minutes. Far beyond science fiction, a team of 40 UCF undergraduates and 25 graduate students, led by Professor Kareem Ahmed, are turning theory into reality. Hypersonic technology holds promise for opening up the boundaries of space exploration, changing our perceptions of the impossible.

Mission VIII: Powering Humankind's Return to the Moon
With support from UCF alumni, faculty and students, NASA aims to send humans back to blaze a path from the moon into deep space exploration for the future of humankind. UCF’s Exolith Lab is home to the world’s largest simulated lunar surface with its Regolith Bin. The state-of-the art research and testing facility allows space companies, scientists, faculty and students to test how moon dust interacts with hardware that powers space missions. The Regolith Bin is filled with 120 tons of lunar highland simulant soil, replicating the moon’s south pole – which is where NASA’s Artemis program aims to develop a sustainable presence. The mission patch displays a pattern used by the Artemis program circling Earth while also depicting the number eight for Mission VIII. The red in the path references the wing in NASA’s logo.

Mission VII: Reaching New Horizons
We all live under the same sky, but we don’t share the same horizon. At SpaceU – aligned with the exact latitude of our stadium’s 50-yard-line – our horizon is graced with frequent rocket launches sending modern marvels of science and machinery to the stars. As UCF football explores a new horizon of the Big 12 Conference, so does NASA with the Artemis Program, powering humankind’s return to the moon. With the support of UCF alumni, faculty and students, the Artemis Program aims to blaze a path from the moon into deep space exploration for the future of humankind.

Mission VI: Into the Darkness
In the depths of space, far beyond the boundaries of the familiar, the greatest meaning often lies not in what we see…but what we don’t. Orbiting stars long past our solar system, are worlds beyond our science fiction imaginations: EXOPLANETS. Gas giants larger than Jupiter, lava worlds covered in molten seas, planets dominated by ice, and even the potentially habitable. Floating out in ever expanding blackness, these exoplanets are detectable when they pass in front of their star, temporarily eclipsing its light. Trillions of worlds, all yet to be found. But only the bold touch greatness. Because the power of discovery only exists for those who dare press forward…into the darkness…EVER UPWARD. Depicted on the mission patch is the Spitzer Telescope, used to discover both exoplanets UCF 1.01 and UCF 1.02 in 2012. The patch has an exoplanet depicted near the Leo constellation where the two UCF planets are located. The transit method line beneath the planet references graphs produced in the technique to discover exoplanets.

Mission V: Discovery
Mission V paid tribute to a legacy that launched humanity beyond the horizon, the 40th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. Leading the charge was Nicole Stott, UCF Class of 1992, a NASA astronaut who soared aboard Shuttle Discovery on two journeys into orbit and the International Space Station. The Mission V patch was crafted as a celestial homage, weaving together elements from the two patches Stott proudly wore among the stars. The entire uniform paid homage to the shuttle program. The jersey numbers were a nod to the Space Shuttle Thermal Protection System tiles that guard against extreme temperatures. Each digit from 0 to 9 carried a fragment of history, representing all 135 shuttle missions that defined an era of exploration using unique codes from the thermal tiles. The helmet stripe honored over 100 UCF alumni, faculty and fans who worked on the shuttle program.

Mission IV: Innovation & Ingenuity
The Mission IV uniform takes its cues straight from the engineering marvels that got us into space, and allow us to charge on into the perils of the unknown. It pulls elements from three different celestial projects to create a one-of-a-kind look. The helmet stripe is a nod to the blueprints of the Orion space craft, that is designed to carry humans back into space beyond the moon, to asteroids and potentially Mars. The shoulders display the Directional Flight Guidance system which was used by NASA on the shuttle project. The pants display the pattern of the Arecibo Observatory that UCF [in an agreement with the National Science Foundation] operates and manages in Puerto Rico. Arecibo is one of the largest fully operational radio telescopes in the world. Additionally, the circular navigation grid on the pants and the patch represents the UCF campus, with elements pulled directly from the campus map.

Mission III: Rendezvous with the Stars
We choose the Moon, because the impossible calls to those who dare to listen. Destiny waits where courage and wonder meet. And when our journey is done, when the lunar horizon glows beneath our footprints, we will not stop. For beyond the Moon lies our next horizon, our rendezvous with the stars. Mission III’s helmets display the light and dark sides of the Moon, each hand painted by Schutt Sports. The Citronaut, the unofficial first mascot of UCF who first appeared on the 1968-69 school handbook returns to the uniform. The constellations used represent roads and buildings on campus at UCF, including Orion (the name of the road that circles Spectrum Stadium) with his club or sword drawn at Taurus the bull, the victim of Orion’s strike. Taurus represents the opponent and the conquered.

Mission II: A Familiar Flight
Mission II was the first fully custom uniform for the Space Game. The motto, “Reach for the Stars,” represented the university’s promising aerospace education in engineering, electronics and other technological professions and made its reappearance on the uniform for the second straight season. The Citronaut, the unofficial first mascot of UCF who first appeared on the 1968-69 school handbook made its debut to a football uniform. The constellations used represent roads and buildings on campus at UCF, including Orion (the name of the road that circles Spectrum Stadium) with his club or sword drawn at Taurus the bull, the victim of Orion’s strike. The color “Canaveral Blue” was introduced, incorporating shades of the sky and ocean off Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Mission I: Reach for the Stars
The University of Central Florida was founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University, with the mission of supporting the growing United States space program at nearby Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Its motto, “Reach for the Stars,” represented the university’s promising aerospace education in engineering, electronics and other technological professions. UCF continues to push the frontiers of space research. The first Space Game included a special patch and helmet to go with UCF's standard uniform. The patch depicts a star cluster in the shape of a pegasus, representing the academic seal of the University. It also includes UCF's motto at the top border of the triangle, which implises the view from aboard a space ship and includes the moon and other planets, to show what we've accomplished already and what lies ahead. The helmet included a picutre of the surface of the moon sublimated in the UCF logo and included a special stripe down the center of the helmet. The stripe included constellations of a horse, bull, Orion the Hunter and the Crown.