HoloLens, Holograms And Going To Mars: NASA And Microsoft Team Up To Make Science Fiction A Reality

The moment you saw a holographic Princess Leia projecting from R2-D2, you knew your life would never be complete without a holodeck. On Wednesday, Microsoft unveiled the HoloLens, a set of hologram goggles that will let users explore alien worlds. More precisely, NASA will use the HoloLens to create a hologram Mars that researchers can explore.

Researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory created OnSight and the software lets HoloLens users interact with a simulation of Mars. The researchers can use the technology to conduct science experiments using the Curiosity rover. "It fundamentally changes our perception of Mars, and how we understand the Mars environment surrounding the rover," Dave Lavery, program executive for the Mars Science Laboratory mission at NASA, said in a statement. OnSight beams researchers to Curiosity's location where the team can collaborate and explore the region to find new areas of interest.

Finding the next drill target or spot to collect rock samples will be easier since the researchers will see Martian surface features in 3D instead of photos sent back by the rover. "Previously, our Mars explorers have been stuck on one side of a computer screen. This tool gives them the ability to explore the rover's surroundings much as an Earth geologist would do fieldwork here on our planet," Norris said. NASA will begin using the HoloLens with Curiosity later this year.

Microsoft announced the HoloLens as well as its Windows 10 operating system on Wednesday. The HoloLens goggles measure an individual's head and body position and project 3D images to create a hologram. While NASA will have a lot of fun exploring Mars with a pair of the goggles, the HoloLens will be available to the Earth-bound public by the end of the year.