NASA Mars Flight: Immersive and Interactive Mars Airplane Simulation

Nicholas Kang

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https://education.grc.nasa.gov/MarsFlight/


Introduction

Exploration of other planets may involve winged flight vehicles such as This Mars Concept, to bridge the capabilities gap between Orbital and
Surface vehicles. NASA is researching how to design vehicles that operate in different and unique environments. Presented here is a simulation of one such concept vehicle that you can download and fly yourself.

Our Scenario

MarsFlight places students in the role of Mission director who is controlling the craft from an Earth-bound control center. Phase 1 of the software which is being released on this web page implements an interactive “Virtual” test flight on Earth of the Mars Airplane.

System Requirements

PC (Download size: 659MB) and Mac (Download size:1.18GB)
OS-X (Power-PC and Intel-based)
Windows Vista, XP, or 2000
Pentium 4/2.4 GB or Better
Open-gl Graphics card w/min. 128 MB onboard memory or better
Joystick and Mouse

Documentation

https://education.grc.nasa.gov/MarsFlight/docs/MarsFlight Quikref.pdf

FAQ

https://education.grc.nasa.gov/MarsFlight/MarsFlightFAQ.html

Gallery

This simulator can be used in exhibitions as well. The photos below show this simulator software in use in the Youth, Engineering and Science (Y.E.S.) Expo that was held in Detroit, Michigan in 2005.

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Note: For Windows 7,8 and 10. Disable Windows Firewall, your antivirus, turn off UAC AND enable compatibility mode for the installer before you install this simulator. You need to install Apple QuickTime in order to watch the NASA meatball video when starting the simulator but this is not mandatory.

This simulator is based on the NASA ARES project which is no longer in development. This simulator is actually outdated. Though still in beta version, it is still an enjoyable ride aboard the plane exploring Martian terrain.

Also, there are other simulations available as well. Please see: https://education.grc.nasa.gov/esimulations/

(Mods/Admins: I am not sure whether this simulator is shared before in this forum. I searched the forum but did not come across any threads mentioning this. Please delete this thread if it is redundant. Thank you.)

Enjoy!
 
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