The National Museum of Australia presents astronaut Tim Peake speaking about the Space Descent Virtual Reality Experience at the Circa Theatre, Canberra.
Participants get to experience the thrill of being an astronaut. This is done by using the latest 360-degree Virtual Reality technology.
You will be in the pilot’s seat on a 400 kilometre descent to Earth from the International Space Station. This is a breathtaking and awe-inspiring experience produced by the Science Museum Group. British astronaut Tim Peake narrates throughout.
International space station
Virtual Reality Event
The VR experience takes approximately 30 minutes. Remember to plan your visit during peak times, to allow for parking and for queues.
Tim Peake was the first British astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA) Peake was aboard the International Space Station for six months. His trip ended in June 2016 when he returned to the Kazakhstan desert in a seven hour journey from the ISS. His vehicle was travelling at 25,000km per hour.
In association with Alchemy VR, the first-person VR experience, named Space Descent VR, is a 360°, 12-minute journey that puts the wearer in the pilot’s seat of the cramped Soyuz capsule, seated next to a virtual Peake who describes the undocking process, how the rockets work and the bumpy landing in the Kazakhstan desert.
Speaking about what museum visitors will experience in the Space Descent Virtual Reality Experience, Peake said, “It really is breathtaking – and that comes from someone who has spent an awful lot of time using VR systems while training for my first mission. Science Museum visitors are going to experience something that truly is very close to the real thing!”
Visitors who participate will feel they are floating outside the International Space Station. They get a 360° view of the outside of the Space Station and the docked Soyuz capsule. Once inside the capsule, the visiting civilian astronaut see all the capsule’s controls – buttons, levers and screens designed and modelled from a real version of the capsule.
The National Museum advises that this event is not recommended for children under the age of 13 and people with certain medical conditions. The virtual reality event requires a headset to be worn, and glasses cannot be worn under the headset. The headsets do have a focus control, which can adjust to most, but not all vision types.
The National Museum requests that visitors read the health and safety notice before booking.
Bookings are essential, for the limited availability of tickets, which are $10 each, plus booking fee, through Eventbrite.
Sunrise over earth.