Relive the Apollo Moon Landing in VR & AR

Reading about the Apollo 11 moon landing will give you the details. Watching a documentary on it will show you how the brave men and women who worked on the program made it happen. But what if you could experience the start of the engine, the shuttle soaring through the void of space, the first footprints humanity put on the moon? Now, nearly fifty years later after the original expedition, virtual reality has made this possible.

Virtual reality is a rapidly growing, ever-evolving industry both in Ireland and around the globe. Originally only viewed as valuable in the entertainment business, it gained new distinction when producers recognize its potential for a wider range of sectors—namely, education. Owning to the inherently immersive nature of the technology, VR allows users to experience whatever topic they’re learning as opposed to merely being taught the material. Engaging in active learning not only heightens the overall experience of education, but this method of teaching has been shown to improve understanding and information retention rates. You remember more by doing.

Ireland-based company VR Education is at the forefront of the movement toward education through virtual reality and intends to enhance learning through immersive technologies. They released Apollo 11 in order to have users experience a groundbreaking historical event “through the eyes of those who lived through it”. The experience allows participants to fly the command module, land the lunar lander, and even explore the surface of the moon. This interactive, immersive program leaves users with even more than a deep, lasting impression—they’re in complete awe, some moved to tears, by the sensation of having experienced space flight. 

But the relationship between space education and VR technologies doesn’t end there. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library released an augmented reality app, which allowed viewers to relive the Apollo 11 mission right in their homes. While users currently can toy around with the spacecraft and learn about the lead-up to the launch, the main features of the app won’t run until July 16th. At 9:32 A.M., the rocket will launch and the AR software will run through more than 120 hours of material mimicking the real mission. The app recreates the original expedition in its entirety, in real-time. The video content becomes enriched through an overlaying of details regarding the mission itself, as well as John F. Kennedy’s role in putting it in motion. Users also interact with the spacecraft throughout its journey, making it more immersive than a mere video. And, if users visit the JFK Library, they can launch a full scale, 363-ft AR replica of the Saturn V rocket. The whole endeavour shows what can be accomplished by combining AR technology and documentary filmmaking.