VR/AR and Mars Working Group Presented by Explore Mars, Inc.

As a recognized subject matter expert, Explore Mars, Inc. cordially invites you to participate in the 1st Virtual/Augmented Reality and Mars Workshop, a unique and exciting gathering of stakeholders to identify opportunities and challenges to utilize Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies in space exploration mission operations, science, and public engagement. This workshop will not only bring together interested representatives from the VR/VR industry, but also experts in Mars/space mission architecture and operations, science, communications/the Deep Space Network, public engagement and STEM, and other relevant disciplines.

The workshop will consist of 50-60 participants who will produce a white paper. This report will summarize the results of the workshop and make recommendations for future direction. This workshop will occur in parallel with the Affording Mars workshop (https://www.exploremars.org/affording-mars). The report will be similar in format to the 1st Mars Affordability Report that Explore Mars and the American Astronautical Society produced in 2014.

Please RSVP by 11/15 if you would be able to join us for this important workshop. We are currently finalizing programming and would also appreciate any suggestions you may have for potential participants or topics.

Date and Location:

• December 4-5, 2017 | Washington Plaza Hotel, Washington, DC

Goals:

• Educate the Mars community about current VR/AR capabilities.

• Educate the VR/AR community about Mars mission plans.

• Identify opportunities for VR/AR to support Mars mission design, architecture, and operations.

• Assign small teams to investigate and develop concepts to act on these opportunities, to be presented and discussed at a follow-on workshop.

• Produce a short whitepaper discussing possible uses of VR/AR that can positively impact Mars exploration.

Approach:

The workshop will commence with overview sessions and then divided into a collection of smaller brainstorming sessions. Each session will concentrate on a specific aspect of mission architecture with the goal of identifying Virtual Reality concepts that significantly reduce the time, complexity, and cost of sending humans to Mars. Sessions will be run in parallel and each team will be comprised of experts in mission design and VR.

Areas of Interest:

• Mission Architecture

• Astronaut Health and Performance

• Mission Training

• Deep Space Network/telecommunications

• Rover and other robotic programs

• Maven and other Mars missions

• Scientists within the four Science goals of Mars:

• Astrobiology

• Astroclimatology

• Geology

• Human Research Program: Human Factors, Habitability, Behavioral Health, Architecture

• Communications, Educational and Public Outreach

• Space Tourism experts