NASA Harnesses Virtual Reality for Interplanetary Preparation

According to a NASA article published in Phys Org, astronauts are employing immersive technologies such as virtual reality to experience Gateway, the first human home in space. Virtual reality allows astronauts to survey the station, offering insights into how it functions and operates.

Likewise, VR enables astronauts to conduct experiments and other tasks, such as supply retrieval, which they would encounter when living on Gateway. Hence, virtual reality is being used as a testbed for astronauts to provide feedback on the station.

With the end goal of interplanetary space exploration, VR is being operated as part of the Artemis campaign to enable Gateway to put humans on Mars.

Interestingly, NASA is familiar with using immersive technologies such as virtual reality to assist space exploration. The space agency utilizes the technology for training and maintenance purposes, such as controlling robots. Nevertheless, the particular use case outlined in this article showcases the holistic use case of immersive technologies in NASA and the wider space community’s plans for interplanetary exploration.

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