In celebration of the historic Moon landing, which took place on July 20th, 1969, Felix & Paul Studios and TIME released the latest installment of Space Explorers, a VR docuseries that lets you experience the final frontier from both inside and outside the International Space Station (ISS).
Called Expand, the new episode in the series lets you join along with the ISS crew as they prepare to close the hatch behind them for the last time as a year-long mission comes to an end.
Much like back on Earth, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a monkey wrench into the works though, and in their case it’s the return that’s seen complications. But that’s not all. Here’s how Felix & Paul describe it in a Meta blog post:
“They leave knowing the work they accomplished on the ISS will help all those who will come after them to expand the horizon of deep space exploration. Sights are set to getting back to the moon with the ultimate goal of Mars. With the realization of commercial space flight, expansion is now closer than ever. The episode – and series – culminate with the first-ever spacewalk filmed in ultra high-resolution cinematic virtual reality.”
And that space walk isn’t filmed with just any 360 camera; Felix & Paul capture the action with a custom-fitted ‘Outer Space Camera’ built on a Z-Cam V1 Pro camera consisting of nine 4K sensors allowing for a 3D, a 360-degree image at 8K resolution.
The Outer Space Camera is attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm, which lets you see space like few ever had—and without the danger of braving the extreme external temperatures which can range from -250° F to +250° F (-155° C to +121° C).
The multipart series is available to watch for free on Oculus TV for the Meta Quest platform as well as via the Space Explorers app available for download on the Quest Store.
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