It seems like Elon Musk isn’t the only one who’s got his eyes set on experiencing life on Mars. Thanks to a few innovative thinkers at NASA, now anyone can use augmented reality to fast track themselves to the Red Planet.

Thanks to NASA’s new push into the world of augmented reality, users can now “experience” a brief taste of life on other planets such as TRAPPIST-1d. Located 40 light years away from Mars, this planet has six planets visible from its own atmosphere. And while it’s unlikely that humans will physically reach this planet any time in the near future, now thanks to mixed reality, they can experience the next best thing.

According to Sasha Samochina — the NASA employee in charge of bringing these mixed reality experiences to the public — this technology is going to revolutionize the public’s perception of space travel.

“We already have these panoramas from years and years ago from the Opportunity mission that are full panoramas that could be put into a 360. So then the challenge was accepted by me to try to figure out how to cram that into the API that they were putting out.”

(Source.)

Currently, NASA is working with Microsoft on the Hololens platform to assist engineers in their work on the Red Planet. And while they may still be a few years off from an Elon Musk-esque Mars For Tourists, NASA seems to be investing heavily into making their research relatable to the public.

Here at Lucyd, we’re encouraged to see some of the brightest minds in the world focusing on using mixed reality technologies to the masses. Space travel is something that has captured our imaginations for years, and to finally be able to “stand” on the surface of another planet is sure to draw significant attention to the organization’s value.

With the release of our Lucyd Lens smartglasses set to happen in the next six months, we are excited to see more and more companies branching out into the world of augmented reality. Third party developers will be able to create apps like this, perhaps even using data made available by organizations like NASA to create similar experiences for the retail market.

And while Earth will likely remain humanity’s favorite planet for the foreseeable future, who wouldn’t want to see what else is out there?

What do you think about NASA’s latest foray into the world of augmented reality? Let us know in a comment!

UPDATE JULY 28th, 2018

We’ve been busy…

1. We are working on opening the eShop on schedule on July 31st. We will have a variety of tech and designer glasses at launch.

2. The eShop will be the only place in the world to get Rx eyewear and smartglasses with BTC/ETH.

3. LCD integration in eShop (for rewards, loyalty program, glasses purchase) planned for later this year.

4. LCD token wallet smartphone/watch app in development. Expected Q1 ’19. Our goal is that the LCD app will use same account as eShop to unify user experience with the token — for example, buying a new smartglass on lucyd.co gives you an LCD reward, which you can then access from your Bluetooth-connected smartglass.

5. Lucyd is also developing a platform-agnostic app to improve general synergy of wearables and IoT devices, called LINK. Expected release Q4 this year. US Patent application to be submitted on July 2nd 2018 to cover this app. This will be Lucyd’s 14th intellectual property (either a licensed patent and/or patent application).

That’s all for now! We are still seeking new token exchanges with reasonable listing fees, so please bring them to our attention at [email protected]. You may also direct any other concerns there. Thanks!