Last week, NASA launched an exciting crowdsourcing contest to develop a Metaverse version of Mars. This cutting-edge simulator will prepare astronauts for whatever eventualities they could experience while journeying to the Red Planet.
NASA Will Train Astronauts for Mars Mission in the Metaverse to be Established
Contestants are granted access to an intricate, digital world replicating the gravitational and land-based conditions of Mars. They must then design mission specifics within this realm in 2 distinct phases: Storyboard creation & Development of VR capabilities to bring the storyboarding ideas into reality. Phase 1 entails designing and plotting out training scenarios, while phase 2 requires crafting virtual reality features that will make the narrative of the Metaverse come alive!
Patrick Estep, a human performance engineer at NASA, lauded the assets and scenarios as “essential to exposing researchers and test subjects to EVA-relevant scenarios, procedures, and informatics while on the Red Planet.” HeroX conducts this competition in partnership with Fortnite creator Epic Games and virtual reality company Buendea. Already 2,300 participants have signed up for this amazing opportunity, and $70k will be distributed among multiple winners.
NASA Was Relying On Expensive Physical Training Scenarios For Astronaut Training
Nearing the 2030s mark, NASA has set its sights on sending a crewed mission to Mars and is taking essential steps to ensure their success. In preparation for this momentous journey, thousands of tasks have been identified that astronauts may need to complete while on the Red Planet – from mundane fuel tank inspections all the way up to complex habitat-building projects.
To prepare astronauts for the realities of space, NASA traditionally used costly physical simulators like human centrifuges, analog missions, and large mock terrains. By moving to Metaverse for virtual training methods, however, they have gained far more flexibility in designing complex scenarios that cost significantly less than traditional ones.
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