NASA is using Nvidia"s graphics technology to recreate the surface of Mars and to plan rover missions.
Nvidia has today revealed that its graphics technology is being employed by NASA to recreate the surface of Mars and to plan rover missions. Using transmitted data from the rover Spirit that landed on Mars on January 3, NASA is reconstructing the planet surface as a photorealistic virtual reality, which it can then use to plan and rehearse upcoming scenarios.
"Nvidia technology allows NASA to visualize the Martian terrain in photorealistic virtual reality, greatly enhancing scientists" understanding of the environment and streamlining analysis," said Laurence Edwards, Mars team lead for 3D visualization and surface reconstruction from NASA Ames Research Centre. "With this capability, scientists step into a visually engaging model of the planet"s surface and interactively study multiple perspectives--front, back, side views--of every object the rovers investigate to fully explore all options for rover routes and experiments."