SpaceX will stream its 2023 moon mission live in high-definition VR: Elon Musk

It'll feel like you're there in real-time minus a few seconds for speed of light, Musk said.

Tech2 News Staff|Sep 19, 2018, 18:11:35 IST

If you aren’t one of the artists nominated to fly with Japanese entrepreneur and finalist Yusaku Maezawa in SpaceX’s moonshot mission, don’t you fret.You’d be happy to know that SpaceX plans to live stream the entire mission in virtual reality and in real-time, so we can “feel like we’re there”, a recent tweet by SpaceX Founder and CEO Elon Musk revealed.[caption id="attachment_5214601" align="alignnone" width="1280"]

An illustration of the moon orbit that the BFR rocket will make in the planned mission. Image courtesy: SpaceX[/caption]Musk announced that the space company’s moon mission will be streamed in high-resolution video as-it-happens in virtual reality."It'll feel like you're there in real-time minus a few seconds for speed of light," Musk said.

SpaceX's moonshot mission is currently poised for 2023 — carrying Maezawa and six to eight other artists aboard what could be SpaceX’s largest and most powerful spacecraft yet – the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR).While the rocket won’t land on the Moon, it will loop around it before it returns to Earth.In response to Musk's tweet, one of his followers enquired as to how the VR stream would work once the BFR gets into the dead zone on the far side of the moon.This poses a challenge because radio waves from the far side of the moon need to travel through the entire diameter of the moon before they reach Earth, Inverse reports.

Musk responded with an unexpected, unofficial update about another mission in SpaceX's toolshed – the Starlink project.Starlink – SpaceX’s project to build a network of thousands of small, internet-providing satellites – would be up by then, he said.[caption id="attachment_5214621" align="alignnone" width="1280"]

An artistic representation of SpaceX's BFR rocket. Image courtesy: SpaceX[/caption]These satellites would relay footage from the BFR during the historic mission, Musk suggested. According to SpaceX’s application for Starlink's FCC license, some of the satellites which are part of the project could be up and running as early as 2019.Yet another excuse to invest in a good pair of VR headsets if you don’t own one already, space junkies.

Careless Whispers: Scientists discover that plants can 'talk' to each other using smells

Japanese scientists have recorded a video that shows plants, in certain conditions, communicate with each other using mists that carry smells. The discovery, reveals that plants release a fine mist of airborne compounds, to warn nearby plants of potential dangers

Life on Mars? European Space Agency’s Orbiter discovers ice water deposits at equator

European Space Agency's Mars Express Orbiter has identified massive ice and ice water deposits beneath the surface of Mars. The Mars Express orbiter was also the first to confirmed the presence of ice on Mars in 2004

Microsoft briefly overtakes Apple as the most valuable company, Apple back on top again

At its peak during the session, Microsoft's value reached $2.903 trillion, with a 2% surge. As of writing this article, Apple closed at $2.89 trillion, whereas Microsoft closed at $2.86 trillion

Even NASA is facing a tough time, starts layoffs following major budget cuts

NASA is facing some massive budget cuts, because of which, it has been forced to postpone some upcoming missions. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been hit hard by recent federal budget cuts, resulting in the layoff of 100 contractors last week

ISRO, NASA's NISAR satellite to get ready by Jan-end, will monitor Earth's snow-covered regions

The NISAR satellite which has been developed jointly ISRO and NASA, should be ready for launch by the end of January 2024. The collaboration between NASA and ISRO on NISAR is the first time the two agencies have cooperated on hardware development for an Earth-observing mission

Up Next