Some of you may recall my excitement about NASA’s OnSight technology developed with Microsoft creating a mixed reality Mars experience. I even wondered if they would put this experience up for grabs at Disney World. Well, I was close, TechCrunch revealed that they’ve planned it for a summer opening at Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Complex. How much is airfare to Orlando? Called Destination: Mars, anyone can now experience the terrain of the red planet wearing a HoloLens, which allows an augmented reality view. Explore actual sites with images taken from the Curiosity Rover!
Keep in mind that NASA uses this same technology to understand Mars while on Earth. Astronaut Scott Kelly tested a HoloLens and described the capability.
A person on the ground could be drawing things in your field of view and pointing to things. I could be doing the same. I could say ‘Hey, is this the bolt or connector you’re talking about?’ and the other person could just write an arrow in your field of view. And it worked great, I was really surprised.
Speaking of astronauts, it looks like Dr. Buzz Aldrin is part of the fun. The real question is whether the upcoming NASA Space Apps Challenge hackathon will be offering any free tickets to this epic adventure as a prize. All I can say is that I would participate if I were you. NASA has plenty of challenges available for Mars, but don’t forget planet Earth needs all the help it can get. If you’d like a reminder of just how small we are in the universe, consider getting our Pinhole Planetarium Kit. This is another masterpiece by Gakken and will fulfill your dreams of star filled sleeping in the comfort of your own home.
Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!