I couldn't tell you how many Kerbal deaths I've been responsible for. How many Kerbal families I've left without fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. When I close my eyes, all I see is the explosions from my failed rockets. But hey, that's not going to stop plenty of other players from suiting up some Kerbals and rocketing them into orbit.
As spotted by PC Gamer, Kerbal Space Program has seen a massive boost in player count recently. The 2015 simulation hit hit a 24-hour peak of 11,434, which isn't a monstrous amount of players, but it is near the top 100 most-played games on Steam list right now.
The reason behind this sudden interest? Artemis II of course. The real-life NASA mission to see the other side of the moon has sparked interest in space travel and exploration across the internet. Considering most of us don't have a billion dollars to fly up into space with Jeff Bezos and crew, Kerbal Space Program is about the closest we can get to making our own Artemis II mission. It's also worth noting that the sequel, Kerbal Space Program 2, hit some boosts on SteamDB as well, but didn't enjoy nearly as much success as the original experience.