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NASA Is Creating a Virtual Reality Mission To Mars (roadtovr.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The Mars 2030 Experience' is part of NASA's ongoing efforts to build public support in a real manned mission to the Red Planet. Partnering with FUSION to produce the experience, NASA wants the mission to simulate life as one of the first astronauts on Mars. Incorporating research directly from NASA and MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics PhD candidate Sydney Do, the VR experience will take users on an 'extravehicular activity' and put them in the Z-2 spacesuit, a real prototype currently in development at NASA. There are also plans to add multiplayer functionality to the game and launch with support for the Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard in 2016.
Will this virtual reality simulation also depict one drinking one's own urine? As I understand it, water will be so scarce on Mars, at least at first, that the inhabitants will need to drink their own urine just to survive. Some speculate that the urine will be distilled down or otherwise cleaned some how, but as with all technology breakdowns are possible. If repairs can't be made to the water purification machinery in time, then the inhabitants of a colony on Mars may be forced to drink their own urine without any sort of treatment or processing of it. This isn't without precedent; it sometimes happens here on Earth in certain disaster situations.
"Virtual reality missions" is about all these affirmative action hires are capable of completing.
Can't wait to "play" Marsbase Alpha!
Rob
If you don't see any value in sending people except as means to an end, then no they won't be cost effective. But I'd argue that putting a man on the moon had more non-scientific value than merely putting a science probe on the moon. It's a bit like the first guy to climb Mount Everest, that hundreds if not thousands of people do it is just to stroke their ego. But the first time was proving that we could. There's a lot of armchair quarterbacks saying that we could, because we put a man on the moon. But we know it's harder and we haven't actually tried. Proving that it is within the realm of technological progress to put a man on Mars is actually important.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
Building a simulator to make it look like they send a person to Mars without actually doing so might not be in the best interest for NASA. I expect the "you did the same thing with the moon" posts to arrive momentarily. I will come back tomorrow and read that NASA secretly invented virtual reality in the 60s as part of the Apollo program. Remind me to bring popcorn.
How sad to be that cynical about one of the greatest achievements in the history of humanity.
As for the practicality of humans in space... it really depends what your goals are. If it's to learn about the universe, human space flight is indeed rather silly, as it's vastly more difficult (and dangerous) to get a human into space than a machine. If your end-game is to get a permanent and self-sustainable human colony off world in the distance future, it's important that we as a species become comfortable living and working in space. Obviously, with your "real science" comment, you're interested in the former. Personally, I like to see us doing both.
The "television" aspect of space flight is because it's pretty exciting to watch in general, and I suppose because we also like to see how our investments are doing, considering most of the big stuff is still publicly financed. Getting people interested and excited about space is also a good idea to ensure the public (and hence, Congress) remains willing to fund all this science, which still takes a shitload of money to do.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
The really rich guys get to go there in person but the hoi polloi get to stay here and dream about it. I'm glad I'm not rich.
Oh get over it. Indoor plumbing, electrification, germ theory, electronics, all these are far greater achievements.
Get your ass to mars!
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
It strikes me as unethical for NASA to spend money trying to convince us to give NASA more money.
Funny how space exploration involves all of these and much more :)
Proving that you can do something is engineering v&v, not science.
This mission isn't called Capricorn One by any chance, is it?
Pogue (can't be bothered to log in)
please make a non VR version too. And also put up server that can host upwards to million participants. ty.
I still dont know why we are bent on sending people to mars. It's average temperature is -60 degrees F! If you really must know what that is like first hand, go to the North/South pole.
Restless construction workers wanted!
Mission to Mars - Epcot Center - You can go for less than $100. And when you come back, you can watch people vomit!
Brawndo: It's what plants crave!
Spray paint the inside of a garbage orange. Fasten the bag firmly around your neck, face and head and proceed to walk into a shallow portion northernmost ocean you can find. This should accurately portray all the excitement and adventure of life on a totally uninhabitable rock.