One small step for man, one giant, virtual leap for mankind.
In celebration of the Apollo Program’s historic, 50th anniversary, NASA has teamed up with Samsung to develop an out-of-this-world, location-based VR experience powered by the Gear VR.
“Starting this year, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Program that landed a dozen Americans on the Moon,” spoke Sean Carter, Strategic Partnerships at NASA Johnson Space Center, in an official release. “With VR experiences like the one Samsung has developed, we are working to make lunar missions accessible to the public and are excited to inspire the next generation of astronauts.”
Open to the public now at Samsung 837 in NYC, A Moon for All Mankind is an in-depth simulation of real NASA space missions. Participants begin their experience with a comprehensive briefing explaining how astronauts move while traversing the low gravity environment of the Earth’s moon. From there, they’ll don a custom flight suit and strap into a specialized harness attached to a specialized gravity offload rig.
Using a Samsung Gear VR headset powered by the Galaxy S9+, participants will then experience what it’s like to bounce across the cold rock via an immersive, untethered VR simulation.
Samsung’s rig design team co-operated with the crew responsible for NASA’s Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) at the Johnson Space Center in Houston in order to provide customers with a realistic sensation of weightlessness. For those unfamiliar with ARGOS, the advanced rig system, similar to that of an overhead bridge crane, is currently being utilized by NASA to train potential astronauts in low gravity scenarios.
“At Samsung, we are driven to push the boundaries of innovation and inspire consumers to do what they can’t,” said Zach Overton, Vice President of Consumer Experience & General Manager of Samsung 837 and Galaxy Studios. “We are proud to bring to consumers the combination of our powerful mobile VR headset and our innovative work with NASA to launch this lunar experience and bring the sensation of walking on the Moon to life.”
A Moon for All Mankind is open to the public now through July 15th at Samsung 837 in New York City’s Meatpacking district.
For more information on your upcoming mission, visit http://www.837gearvr.com/
Image Credit: Samsung U.S.
