SpaceX is an ongoing space program by entrepeneur Elon Musk, and Bioware's latest RPG Mass Effect: Andromeda contains an easter egg which not only references SpaceX, but talks favourably of it.
The easter egg is found in the form of a model you find in your character's private quarters, which looks like SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, due to launch this year. When you interact with the model, the following codex entry is unlocked:
"After the historic NASA Apollo moon landings in 1969, the drive for crewed space exploration slowed as government funding dried up. The move towards cheaper unmanned probes and orbital stations gained traction instead, as one of the central obstacles was the expense of creating first-stage booster rockets that would be lost after each flight."
"But the lure of sending people into the cosmos never lost its draw. In the early 21st century, a private company called SpaceX pioneered efforts in sustainable space travel by developing a reusable launch system. It revolutionised the field as the first entity, government or private, to successfully launch and then safely recover an orbital booster rocket intact, allowing it to be reused in future launches. Reusable hardware placed lower-cost, sustainable space travel within reach."
"Galvanised by SpaceX's achievements, a renaissance in space exploration followed. Reusable launch system technology later became pivotal in establishing the European Space Agency's first permanent settlement on Mars, Lowell City, in 2103."
Lowell City was unlocked for players of the original Mass Effect too. Do you like this interaction with reality?
Thanks, Polygon.