Amazing NASA VR tech comes to the rescue of homesick astronauts

An international crew of six scientists were isolated in a remote facility on a dormant volcano bed near Mount Kea Hawaii. The scientists were isolated for a year to study the psychological effects of long distance space travel on humans. The program is called Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (Hi-Seas) and was a simulation of crew operations on the planned manned mission to Mars. NASA has scheduled the Journey to Mars to land humans on the surface of the Red Planet by 2030. [caption id=“attachment_340534” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Outline of NASA plans for the Journey to Mars. Click to expand. Image: NASA[/caption] The return trip to Mars is expected to last between a year and a half, not counting the time spent on the surface of the planet by the pioneers. It can get lonely on such long missions to the outer solar system, and Virtual Reality is just the right emerging technology to simulate the remote presence of other people in a digital environment. As a pilot project, the participants of the Hi-Seas program were delivered virtual reality recordings of Moon astronaut Buzz Aldrin and comedian Reggie Watts, as a morale improving measure. [caption id=“attachment_341023” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] Scientists at the Hi-Seas facility[/caption] Smart Information Flow Technologies ( SIFT), a consultant company conducted the research and development for the pilot, which was enabled by technology developed by 8i. 8i is a startup that uses propriety technology to allow for multi party human interaction in virtual reality spaces. 8i announced the pilot project in a blog post on Medium. The recordings will be available to the general public as a VR experience on  Life VR, an experience offered by Time Inc. [caption id=“attachment_341018” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Buzz Aldrin in the VR experience[/caption] Peggy Wu, senior research scientist at SIFT, said, “It has long been understood and empirically supported that humans do not respond well psychologically to long periods of confinement, and one of our goals at SIFT is to study how technologies can be used to counter negative effects. We believe the way virtual reality can capture your senses can help astronauts feel more connected to Earth, and offer ways to combat the sensory monotony that result from such prolonged durations of isolation. The preliminary results of this ongoing study has been promising and we’re looking forward to extensive data analysis.” [caption id=“attachment_339922” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  Students identify plants suitable for growth in Space. Image: NASA.[/caption] One of the other initiatives by NASA to tackle the psychological problems of long term isolation, is to make the astronauts take plants with them into space, as a token reminder of the environment on Earth. Students are helping NASA identify the suitable plants for long distance space travel, and ones that can be grown for sustenance on the crumbled volcanic rock that forms the surface of the Red Planet. [caption id=“attachment_341025” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]  The scientists at Hi-Seas performed the tasks that the Martian Pioneers would[/caption]