Oculus has partnered with the International Space Station to launch an incredible virtual reality app that allows anyone to become a space explorer. Users can feel like an astronaut aboard the orbiting space lab and partake in spacewalks.
This new app was released last week and is aptly called Mission: ISS. Those who want to experience a day in the life an astronaut can do so with the Oculus Rift VR headset with the Oculus Touch motion controllers. Download the app free of charge from the Oculus Store.
A California-based production company known as Magnopus worked with NASA along with the Canadian Space Agency and the European Space Agency to create this hyper-real simulation. Users are now allowed to take a peek inside cargo capsules and even perform critical tasks for missions like a real astronaut aboard the ISS.
Apart from this, this space station VR can indulge you in breathtaking views from lower Earth orbit, around 250 miles above the surface of the planet. According to Oculus, the Mission: ISS is focusing on recreating the International Space Station with a great amount of detail to fulfill the fantasy of what it is like being an astronaut. To date, only 500 humans have ventured out into space.
There are several videos that provide users valuable information about how the first space station is made, including interesting space lab experiments and what is life like aboard the ISS. Apart from this virtual reality app, Oculus also has other projects in the works.
There will be a limited beta program for students in the United States to provide direct access to Mission: ISS. The Oculus Rift will also be brought to the real International Space Station aboard for the onboard crew.
European Space Agency's astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who is onboard the space station right now, will also test zero gravity effects on how humans perceive spatial awareness and apply balance by using software developed by space agencies and Oculus. Apart from Oculus, astronauts have also worked with Microsoft's HoloLens headsets to test a system guide for technical processes and repairs. The Microsoft HoloLens uses VR elements that are projected against real environments.