Space Physics Mobile VR Lab

Image of a student in front of a screen with VR goggles on in classroom.

Take a virtual field trip to outer space with our NASA-sponsored VR Classroom for Space Physics. Great for education and public outreach at schools, workshops, events, and more!

Space, like Earth, has weather. And just like hurricanes, tornadoes, and other storms can cause lots of damage, geomagnetic storms in space can also cause damage – damage to astronauts, satellites, and the society we have built on the ground. The University of New Hampshire is building satellites to better study and predict space weather. We have taken Space Weather events, as well as the satellites, instruments, and data we use to study it, and put them into a Space Station in Virtual Reality for all to enjoy. 

The Space Station has a media room for learning about space weather and satellite missions, games and instruments for interactive exploration, and a data viewing platform to visualize and explore space weather events. We are able to bring outer space closer to home so kids and adults alike can play with learn about space weather in a way we learn best – by exploring!

Photo of two people with VR headsets at trade show.
Photo of man standing in front of app graphics and NASA sign.

More Information

expand all

VR Laboratories for STEM Classrooms

Rendering of the Electrostatics Charge Playground with space background.
The Charge Playground (pictured right) allows users to explore electrostatics in an interactive virtual laboratory setting. Place charges and potential barriers to see how the electric field and potential are affected. Release test charges to see how they respond. Load and answer laboratory questions as you play.

Turn CAD and engineering models into VR assets

Below are examples (left to right) of NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) satellite, MMS's Electron Drift Instrument (EDI), and NOAA's SOLAR-1 Magnetometer (MAG).
 
Rendering of MMS model in space.
Rendering of the CDSI instrument.
Rendering of the magnometer tool.


Data Visualization

Turn 3D datasets into explorable, interactive visualizations. Below are examples (left to right): 3D flow fields and slices, particle tracing in electromagnetic fields, and cutting planes with Hairy slices in 3D vector fields.
 

Rendering of flow terminal.
Image rendering of density testing.
Image rendering of a hairy slice in a rectangle.

Front page of color brochure.
Inside page of color brochure.

Rendering of a white VR headset.

Our Mobile VR Lab has five Meta Quest 3 Headsets available for classroom or event demonstrations. 

Email Us!

If you would like the Space Physics Mobile VR Lab to visit your classroom or event, please contact Matthew Argall at Matthew.Argall@unh.edu

Photo of children using a VR set under a tent outside.
Do you want to be part of the Mobile VR Lab Team and help bring the Space Physics Laboratory to local schools and events? After a brief training and some time playing in the Space Physics Laboratory, you can!
 
Email Matthew.Argall@unh.edu with the subject "Mobile VR Volunteer" to be added to our email list.

Scope 

This is the privacy policy for the Space Physics Laboratory virtual reality application developed for the Unity app store by the University of New Hampshire, Southern New Hampshire University, and Mean Free Path Laboratories, LLC. It conforms to the privacy policy requirements of the Meta Quest app store. 

Data Collected 

Two classes of data are collected within the app: answers to academic questions for evaluation, and interaction statistics. 

  • Laboratory Questions 
    Laboratory activities within the Space Physics Laboratory capture user input in the form of speech-to-text, interactive answer selections, and typed or written answers. These answers to laboratory questions can be saved to the headset and later distributed further by the user. They are not collected by the app developers.
  • Interaction Statistics 
    Some objects in the Space Physics Laboratory capture anonymous interaction statistics, including the number of times the object is touched, held, or viewed, and the amount of time the object was touched, held, or viewed. These statistics are uploaded to a central data server. This data is tagged with a unique identifier(the device MAC Address) and general location details. 

Data Usage 

Answers to laboratory questions are meant to be evaluated for educational purposes. Users can record their answers and present them to the lab instructor for evaluation. Object interaction statistics are used to determine which elements of the app are most interesting to the users and to generate ad revenue from sponsors. 

Right to Delete Personal Information 

Users may request that their personal information be deleted by emailing Matthew.Argall@unh.edu