NASA has partnered with Epic Games to create the Mars Metaverse in virtual reality.
The joint project hopes that the space agency will be a useful tool in planning the first human expedition. Red planet.
To roll the ball, NASA has partnered with HeroX to launch the MarsXR Challenge.
This test leaves the developer to create scenarios that astronauts may face while on Mars.
Challenges fall into five categories: camp setting, scientific research, maintenance, exploration, and “blowing the mind.”
Once all VR designs are complete, NASA will bring together up to 20 developers to share a $ 70,000 prize.
The potential virtual situations on Mars range from setting up base camps to facing heavy sandstorms.
As designers develop VR scenarios, they also need to create assets and processes that astronauts can seamlessly track in the future using VR headsets.
The MarsXR OS system was built using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5. This is a tool to create real-time 3D visuals for an immersive experience.
Developers participating in the challenge will be the first to access the digital world.
Their assignments can include single or multiplayer scenarios.
“Creators can use Unreal Engine to build realistic simulation scenarios to help NASA prepare for future missions, whether on the moon or Mars,” said Epic Games’ Unreal Engine business in charge of simulation. Director Seb Loze said.
“Anyone, game designer, architect, hobbyist, or rocket scientist, can build with UE5. I can’t wait to see the immersive simulations that the community comes up with.”
The race to Mars has begun …
NASA isn’t the only one trying to reach Mars. SpaceX founder Elon Musk has also spoken out about his ambitions to colonize the Red Planet.
Musk was founded SpaceX Since 2002, one of his greatest goals has been to help humanity become a multi-planetary species.
To achieve this extra-world feat, the wealthiest man in the world (at the time of publication) turned his attention to the Red Planet, about 33.9 million miles from Earth.

“If we could make our lives on Mars self-sustaining, we would pass one of the best filters, and then we were ready to become interstellar,” Musk wrote. Twitter in November..
“Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, but life is not yet multi-planetary, and it is very uncertain how much time will be left before that happens,” he added.
So far, Musk’s long-term vision for Mars looks like building a self-sustaining city featuring solar-powered hydroponic farms and vegan diets.
“The next really big thing is to build a self-sustaining city on Mars and bring the animals and creatures of the earth into it,” Musk told Time.
“Sort like Noah’s Ark of the future, but bring more than one. It’s a bit weird if you only have two,” he continued.
This article was originally Sun I duplicated it here with permission.