NASA - Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) logo.
Oct. 19, 2017
When NASA scientists want to follow the path of the Curiosity rover on Mars, they can don a mixed-reality headset and virtually explore the Martian landscape.
Animation above: Access Mars allows any member of the public to explore the discoveries of NASA's Curiosity rover. Animation Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Starting today, everyone can get a taste of what that feels like. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, collaborated with Google to produce Access Mars, a free immersive experience. It's available for use on all desktop and mobile devices and virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) headsets. That includes mobile-based virtual reality devices on Apple and Android.
The experience was adapted from JPL's OnSight software, which assists scientists in planning rover drives and even holding meetings on Mars. Imagery from NASA's Curiosity rover provided the terrain, allowing users to wander the actual dunes and valleys explored by the spacecraft. Since being rolled out to JPL's scientists in 2015, OnSight has made studying Martian geology as intuitive as turning your head and walking around.
Image above: Access Mars lets users visit several sites from the past five years of discoveries made by NASA's Curiosity rover. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
Access Mars lets anyone with an internet connection take a guided tour of what those scientists experience. A simple walkthrough explains what the Curiosity rover does and details its dramatic landing in 2012. Users also can visit four sites that have been critical to NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission: Curiosity's landing site; Murray Buttes; Marias Pass and Pahrump Hills. Additionally, the rover's latest location on lower Mt. Sharp will be periodically updated to reflect the mission's ongoing progress.
At the first three locations, users can zero in on objects of scientific interest, including rock outcrops and mud cracks. Katie Stack Morgan, a JPL scientist on the MSL mission, will explain the evidence of habitability Curiosity has unearthed.
Image above: Clicking on the floating spheres in Access Mars lets users see actual photos taking by NASA's Curiosity rover that allowed scientists to make new discoveries. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
More than anything, Access Mars offers a visceral impression of what it would be like to walk alongside Curiosity, wandering through the lonely, red desert.
"We've been able to leverage VR and AR technologies to take our scientists to Mars every single day," said Victor Luo, lead project manager at JPL's Ops Lab, which led the collaboration. "With Access Mars, everyone in the world can ride along."
Access Mars was created using data collected by JPL and built on WebVR, an open-source standard, in an effort to expand access to immersive experiences. Google's Creative Labs team was looking for novel uses for VR and encouraged developers to experiment using its tools.
Access Mars Web VR: A Virtual Walk on Mars
Video above: When NASA scientists want to follow the path of the Curiosity rover on Mars, they can don a mixed-reality headset and virtually explore the Martian landscape. Now everyone can get a sense of what that looks and feels like by visiting https://g.co/accessmars . NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, collaborated with Google to produce "Access Mars," a free immersive experience. It's available for use on all desktop and mobile devices and VR/AR headsets. This includes mobile-based iOS and Android devices. Users can visit four sites that have been critical to NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission: Curiosity's landing site; Murray Buttes; Marias Pass; and Pahrump Hills. The rover's location on lower Mount Sharp will be periodically updated to reflect the mission's ongoing progress. For more about all of NASA's Mars missions, go to https://mars.nasa.gov
NASA has collaborated with a number of outside organizations to create immersive experiences that allow people to "travel" to distant destinations. NASA worked with Google Expeditions, a free immersive app, to provide 360 tours of JPL Mars rover sites, the International Space Station and other NASA locations, and to profile the careers of women at NASA. JPL also teamed with Microsoft to create OnSight for that company’s HoloLens mixed-reality headset. Using JPL's OnSight software, Microsoft collaborated on a public experience called "Destination: Mars" at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in 2016.
"Immersive technology has incredible potential as a tool for scientists and engineers," Luo said. "It also lets us inspire and engage the public in new ways."
Experience Access Mars here: http://g.co/accessmars
For more information about the Mars Science Laboratory mission, visit: https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/
Destination Mars: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6220
Careers of women at NASA: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6768
Animation (mentioned), Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Martin Perez/JPL/Andrew Good.
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