Don’t worry if you are not a NASA astronaut chosen to be on a MARS mission because now you can experience the Red Planet for yourself, well sort of. A NASA-approved virtual experience called Mars 2030 has just landed on the HTC Vive, the Oculus Rift, and the PC through Steam. In this VR experience, you will play an astronaut who is exploring a 15 miles long Martian land. The landscape will be based on the planet’s real surface as captured by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera.
Take a walk on Mars
This virtual world will look and feel as real as possible because of the 8K resolution. You can roam the planet’s surface, collect samples and then analyze them under the virtual microscope in your habitat that’s designed after an actual NASA concept for the first Mars-bound spacefarers. After you collect samples and analyze the specimen, like a real astronaut you can send your findings back on earth. To add authenticity to the experience the displays for your suit and rover will show biometric data and life support gauges.
Mars 2030 will set you back $15 for those three platforms. It’s not available on PlayStation VR yet, but it will be available for Sony’s PS4 console “soon.”
