The Russian government has deployed Nvidia’s 3D Vision technology to provide cosmonauts with a virtual reality experience during their simulated Mars mission.
As TG Daily previously reported, the Mars-500 project is manned by 6 crew members who are living a life as close as possible to that which would be experienced by true Martian astronauts.
Indeed, the 6 cosmonauts were recently sealed in a hermetic environment designed to simulate the isolation, confinement and communication delays of interplanetary flight.
The crew is scheduled to remain in their hermetic environment for 520 days while observers study the physiological and psychological effects of the mission.
“For the experiment to be useful, the experience needs to be as convincing and immersive as possible – and that’s where Nvidia 3D Vision comes in. [We have] supplied the crew with 3D Vision laptop systems that they’ll use primarily when they reach Mars and land on the planet,” explained Nvidia spokesperson Irina Shekhovtsova.
“During their ‘flight,’ the crew will be able to use 3D Vision for entertainment [as well]. But it’s during the 30-day operations phase that 3D Vision is most critical – that’s when the crew will experience a simulated landing on Mars and get to explore the planet’s surface.”
According to Shekhovtsova, Nvidia’s 3D Vision technology was chosen as the “best solution” for providing the most realistic and immersive 3D experience.
“The Russian company JCSI, which is creating the interactive 3D model of Mars for the cosmonauts to explore, will simulate different environments – including dust storms, meteorites and craters – so the crew can experience a full range of highly realistic conditions as they navigate the planet’s terrain,” she added.
