How do you prepare yourself for a journey no one has ever made? In 1965 and 1967, two groups of American astronauts made an astrogeological field trip to the central highlands of Iceland. Nobody had set foot on the moon yet and the only information about the moon’s surface was based on images transmitted by space probes. These images led NASA scientists to the volcanic deserts of Iceland, which were expected to resemble a lunar landscape. In the surroundings of the Askja volcano, the astronauts performed simulation training for survival, taking samples and communication practice. They called it ‘playing the moon game’.