Last year at the Oculus Connect 3 event the company announced that Oculus Rift users would soon be able to get their hands on Mission:ISS, a true-to-life simulation lets them explore the International Space Station (ISS) in virtual reality (VR). Created in collaboration with NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency, Mission:ISS has now launched for free on Oculus Home.
The experience has been created to provide the most accurate representation of the ISS, utilising NASA Space Station models, the VR Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and feedback from astronauts themselves.
Using Oculus Touch, Mission:ISS players will be able to dock incoming cargo capsules, conduct spacewalks, and perform mission-critical tasks. They’ll also be able to learn about the station’s 18 year history and hear stories from the astronauts that have spent time in orbit above the Earth.
Oculus also revealed it’ll be piloting a limited beta program in the US so that high school students will get to experience Mission:ISS.
Additionally, Oculus will be sending its head-mounted display (HMD) to the ISS through a partnership with CNES, the French Space Agency. European astronaut Thomas Pesquet will get to use Oculus Rift for the first time in orbit, testing the effects of zero-gravity on human spatial awareness and balance using software developed by the space agencies.
Checkout the trailer below, and for all the latest Oculus news and updates, keep reading VRFocus.