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Click the link below to learn more about the International Space Station.

S119-E-010399 (25 March 2009) --- Backdropped by the blackness of space, the International Space Station is seen from Space Shuttle Discovery as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation. Earlier the STS-119 and Expedition 18 crews concluded 9 days, 20 hours and 10 minutes of cooperative work onboard the shuttle and station. Undocking of the two spacecraft occurred at 2:53 p.m. (CDT) on March 25, 2009.

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Take a Virtual Tour of the International Space Station (Video)

Here's your chance to see what the inside of the ISS is actually like.

space station virtual tour

Not everyone will get the chance to explore space, but this virtual tour of the International Space Station (ISS) comes pretty close.

Google Arts & Culture is a treasure trove for the history, art, and science lover. This platform has been around for a few years, but since the coronavirus outbreak started it has become a must-see for anyone who wants to enrich themselves during lockdown.

Virtual tours of museums, national parks, and popular tourist attractions have certainly been excellent ways to educate and entertain yourself at home, but there’s another collection of online tours and exhibits that space and science lovers should definitely see — including a 360-degree tour of the ISS .

This virtual tour uses Google Street View to explore the space station as if you’re really inside it. Move through the narrow tunnels, see the massive amounts of equipment, and generally experience what it’s like to be a real astronaut.

In addition, there are lots of other ways to explore space on Google Arts & Culture. One fascinating online exhibit is dedicated to the moon landing (which is coming up on its 51st anniversary this year). Take a deeper dive into the Apollo space program by exploring the hundreds of photos from the Apollo 11 mission, as well as stories on the Columbia Memorial Space Center and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

Google Arts & Culture also has an amazing fact sheet that details 10 “out-of-this-world” facts about the International Space Station (ISS), which is perfect to help kids supplement their online learning experience while most schools are closed. Plus, there is a collection of eight truly stunning photographs from space that will make you appreciate our little blue planet even more.

There are also dozens of specific online exhibits to choose from, such as an exhibit focused on women in space, an exploration of aviation history, and a collection of videos that are all about space exploration.

For more information, take the virtual tour, or see an online space exhibit, visit the Space Exploration page on Google Arts & Culture.

Related Articles

International Space Station panoramic tour

Node-3 Tranquillity provides life-support for the International Space Station. Part of Tranquility is ESA's Cupola observation module, a seven-window dome-shaped structure from where the Space Station's robotic arm, Canadarm 2, is operated as it offers a panoramic view of space and Earth. Launched on Space Shuttle flight STS-130 in February 2010, Node-3 was attached to the port side of Node-1 Unity. Read more on ESA's Node-3 minisite.

Explore Tranquility in Flickr , Facebook or Youtube  format with your mobile phone and virtual-reality headset, or take the full tour including all Space Station modules with videos and extra information below. We will release a new Space Station module in 360° every week on Thursday.

Previous releases:

  • Explore Zvezda module via  Flickr ,  Facebook  or  Youtube .
  • Explore Zarya module via  Flickr , Facebook or Youtube .
  • Explore Unity module via  Flickr ,  Facebook  or  Youtube .
  • Explore Destiny  module via  Flickr ,  Facebook  or  Youtube .
  • Explore Harmony  module via  Flickr ,  Facebook  or  Youtube . 
  • Explore Columbus module via  Flickr ,  Facebook  or  Youtube .
  • Explore Kibo in  Flickr ,  Facebook  or  Youtube .

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Click here to explore in full screen

Just before ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti left the International Space Station after 199 days, she took up to 15 pictures inside each module. Now, the images have been stitched together to create this interactive panorama.

These panoramas offer a snapshot of the International Space Station as it was in June 2015, after moving the Leonardo storage module to a new location

Explore the modules and zoom in to see more detail. Use the map or the arrow icons by the module hatches to go to another section.

You can explore every part of the Space Station and click on the play icons to watch an astronaut explain or demonstrate an item, and click on the text icons for web articles.

We recommend exploring in a full screen to do justice to this immersive interactive panorama.

The tour was improved with the assistance of Thomas Rauscher in Vienna, Austria, who helped to stitch the images together for some modules.

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Media Credit: Image courtesy of NASA

ISS Virtual Tour: Experience the Wonder of the Space Station

October 23, 2017

Visitors to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (KSC VC) can now experience the wonder and excitement of the ISS by embarking on a breathtaking interactive tour of the space station. The ISS virtual tour, co-developed by CASIS and NASA, launched in July 2015 and debuted at KSC VC in December.

Built in 6K resolution, the ISS virtual tour covers the entire habitable area of the ISS inside and out in extraordinary detail. After examining the exterior of the ISS with the beautiful backdrop of the Earth below, visitors can go inside the space station.

ISS Virtual Tour kiosk

As visitors “walk” through each module, they can explore “hotspots” that contain information about the hardware and facilities on the ISS. The tour also includes videos of astronauts talking about what it is like to live and work in space, and visitors can learn about current experiments onboard the ISS. The tour includes 15 scenes, more than 150 hotspots, upwards of 50 videos, and 250 images and other media.

Visitors interact with the ISS virtual tour through a mobile 55-inch touch-screen display with stereo surround sound. The ISS virtual tour is a one-of-a-kind educational tool for a wide range of large-scale audiences, making it perfect for KSC VC, which has a yearly attendance of more than one million people.

Three ISS virtual tour units are currently on display in high-traffic areas of KSC VC, and a fourth unit is being used as a traveling school exhibit for educational outreach, said Darlene Koenig, vice president of new business development at KSC.

“The ISS virtual tour is a vital new experience for our public education programs to tell the story and the ‘why’ of the ISS to the participating public who visit KSC VC,” Koenig said.

Additional ISS virtual tour displays at other venues, such as museums, schools, trade shows, retail locations, and other public places, are planned for the future. This amazing new tool will allow people of all ages to explore the ISS in a way never before possible.

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Axiom Mission 1 (Ax 1) is in the foreground on Launch Pad 39A with NASAs Artemis I in the background on Launch Pad 39B on April 6, 2022. This is the first time two totally different types of rockets and spacecraft designed to carry humans are on the sister pads at the same time but it wont be the last as NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida continues to grow as a multi user spaceport to launch both government and commercial rockets. Ax 1 liftoff is scheduled at 11:17 a.m. EDT Friday, April 8, from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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ISS National Laboratory® is a registered trademark of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), used with permission. The ISS National Laboratory® is managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. under Cooperative Agreement with NASA. NASA Partner logo is used with permission. © 2011-2024 The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS), a 501 (c)(3) Corporation.

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You Can Now Tour the International Space Station From the Comfort of Your Home

You can now travel to space without decades of hard work and training..

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The International Space Station

Chances are the coronavirus outbreak has curtailed any ambitious summer vacation plans you may have had. But as far as Google is concerned, that doesn’t need to be the case. In fact, the internet giant wants to take you to space.

Google Arts & Culture now offers a full, 360-degree virtual tour of the International Space Station, and it’s accessible to anyone with internet access. Making use of the company’s Street View technology, the tour lets you explore every single nook and cranny of the 21-year-old space station without the decades of hard work and preparation that would normally require.

A look inside the International Space Station

A look inside the International Space Station  Google Arts & Culture

While you won’t get to experience the feel of floating through the space station, Google’s digital exhibition feels like the next best thing. You can travel down any of ISS’s long and winding tunnels and look around all of its equipment-packed rooms. You can even check out the crew quarters and see some of the astronauts’ personal items.

In addition to the tour, Google has also whipped up a fun and educational ISS-themed informational program. Aimed specifically at younger virtual space tourists, the show attempts to illustrates what life on the station is like. It covers everything from what and how the visiting astronauts eat to the effect that zero-gravity takes on their bodies while they orbit the Earth.

A look inside the International Space Station

Google Arts & Culture

If your virtual trip to the ISS has only managed to stoke your appetite for more space content, Google has you covered. The station tour is just one of several digital exhibitions Arts & Culture has on its Space Exploration page. Other exhibitions of interest include a closer look at the moon landing , a tribute to women who have gone to space , as well as scores of high-definition video content shot from space. Of course, if your virtual traveling interests are more earthbound, there’s still plenty of content for you to check out on Arts & Culture, too. The company also has countless virtual tours of tourist attractions, national parks and museums around the world.

Bryan Hood is a digital staff writer at Robb Report. Before joining the magazine, he worked for the New York Post, Artinfo and New York magazine, where he covered everything from celebrity gossip to…

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You can (virtually) explore the International Space Station at Tacoma’s ‘The Infinite’

The International Space Station hums around me, the melodic sounds of the vehicle floating in empty space seeming eerily similar to the rhythm of breath: constant and airy and alive. All around me, astronauts perform routine tasks or eat freeze-dried food — it looks so real it’s as if I’m watching someone’s memories or recalling my very own.

I’m not really on the International Space Station (this would be a whole ‘nother story), but on a life-size replica of the ISS that has landed in Tacoma. “ The Infinite ,” which bills itself as the world’s largest virtual reality experience , attempts the massive feat of making human spaceflight accessible to those with their feet on the ground.

The hourlong experience moves seamlessly through seven chapters: an artistic multisensory reproduction of a liftoff; onboarding (where visitors get fitted with VR headsets); ISS virtual exploration (which moves through four chapters of its own — adaptation, progress, unity and expansion); a virtual spacewalk; an audiovisual installation from Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda; “the wormhole” (an infinity room corridor representing a return to Earth through a wormhole); and “the origin,” representing the return to Earth through sensory awakening.

In each chapter of the ISS virtual exploration, glowing orbs hover in space onboard and outside the ISS. If touched (or, more realistically, blindly swiped at, since you can’t actually see anything), the scene around you fades to black before you’re briefly transported once again — you may find yourself at the center of a planet’s lazy orbit among the cosmos or in a scene with an astronaut narrating a moment frozen in time, painting a portrait of the work being done above Earth.

“Virtual reality is based on the sentiment and the feeling of presence and eventually transcending a screen,” said Felix Lajeunesse, co-founder and creative director of  Felix & Paul Studios , on a recent phone call. Lajeunesse and Paul Raphaël have created countless virtual reality experiences through Felix & Paul Studios since the company’s inception in 2013, but the dream of transporting audiences to an out-of-this-world experience always remained, “and it took us a decade to be in a position to successfully do that.”

“The Infinite” is created with more than 250 hours of 3D video footage shot aboard and outside the ISS over the course of almost three years and six different NASA expeditions — but before the cameras started rolling, years of creative and technological preparation went into the project.

When Felix & Paul Studios approached NASA for the first time in 2016, “they were aware of virtual reality because they had been using it for training purposes,” but the concept of using it as outreach and a way to communicate with the world to tell a story was entirely new, Lajeunesse said.

“There were so many things that we had to figure out on that journey,” Lajeunesse said, from spending two years from 2016-18 following astronauts on Earth while they prepared for future missions, to collaborating with other space agencies from around the world, to finally taking the journey to space on the ISS, which was not an easy feat.

Building the technology to film both inside and outside the ISS required the creation of a 360-degree camera that could withstand spaceflight. Once in space, the astronauts on the ISS carried out the rest of the work, from placing the camera to transferring the data to being the “protagonists of the story. You see them as the heroes of this narrative that we built, so it demanded a lot of involvement from the astronauts,” Lajeunesse said.

Back on Earth, the journey had just begun, in a way.

“With the robust content [filmed in space], we really wanted to ensure that there was an elegant way that people could experience this extraordinary achievement,” said Phoebe Greenberg, chief creative officer of “The Infinite” and the founder of PHI Studio , a company that specializes in immersive installations. Along with Felix & Paul Studios, PHI brought the physical exhibit to life.

“The Infinite” finds a way to “address the opportunity of what it means to be borderless or to be able to have our presence somewhere else,” Greenberg said, while Lajeunesse adds that PHI Studio’s work evokes “an overview effect and this capacity to witness planet Earth as a whole, take a measure of its fragility and take a measure of the unique opportunity that we have to be protected by an atmosphere.”

“I really feel that [virtual reality] is a language of the future,” Greenberg said. The creation of “The Infinite” is an opportunity to pay homage to the recent resurgence of interest in space, she added, saying “that unites humanity in a way that what part [PHI Studio] can do to bring that to a larger audience is certainly a worthwhile quest.”

The spacewalk, which marks the last chapter of visitors’ virtual citizenship at “The Infinite” with a production of the first-ever spacewalk to be captured in cinematic VR, echoes the experience’s power to unite humanity. Multiple scenes follow the astronauts outside the ISS, concluding with a view of them preparing to float back up into the station. In their final moments in space, they look back and wave at us (and my heart exploded).

In that moment, it was as if the astronauts were saying “thank you” for coming along, and in turn, we were thanking them for bringing us — thanking them for their collaboration with Felix & Paul, their willingness to be trained, their work with the equipment, the poetry of the experience of “The Infinite” as a whole — all the things that made it possible to be sitting in a chair, waving right back at them.

Helpful tips

  • The virtual reality experience accommodates 150 people every hour. When exploring the ISS, you’ll see avatars of other participants, so don’t worry about bumping into others. In the center of each avatar, you’ll see a glowing light — a blue light indicates you’re looking at a stranger (who will only appear if they’re within 12 feet of you) while a yellow light represents members of your group (who will always be visible).
  • During the 35-minute virtual reality portion of the exhibit, there are 65 orbs total. You’ll only have time to explore about 10, making the experience different for each visitor (and every visit).
  • The virtual reality experience can be uncomfortable for some people, and it’s not recommended for people with heart problems, claustrophobia, a history of seizures or epilepsy or sensitivity to flashing lights or 3D. If you are prone to or happen to experience motion sickness or vertigo, you can still experience “The Infinite” through the use of a tablet and augmented reality technology or by watching a seated 360-degree immersive documentary.

10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (last entry) Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (last entry) Fridays and Saturdays; Tacoma Armory, 1001 S. Yakima Ave., Tacoma; $18.20-$36.40; theinfiniteexperience.world

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International Space Station

The International Space Station’s role as a scientific laboratory and test bed for deep-space technology is crucial to humanity’s ability to improve life on Earth while pursuing opportunities in space.

Laboratory, Proving Ground, Home

The International Space Station (ISS) is a permanently crewed on-orbit laboratory that enables scientific research supporting innovation on Earth and future deep space exploration. From design to launch, 15 countries collaborated to assemble the world's only permanently crewed orbital facility, which can support up to seven astronauts and 300 to 400 experiments per crew increment, across an array of disciplines. The ISS is the cornerstone of human activity in low Earth orbit, a cooperative global effort to expand our knowledge and improve life on Earth while testing technology that will build a LEO economy and extend our reach to the moon, Mars and beyond.

Boeing officially turned over the U.S. on-orbit segment of the ISS to NASA in 2010 and continues to provide key engineering support services and continual capability enhancements, as well as processing for laboratory experiment racks. Due to its modular systems and the limited degradation of the space environment, technical assessments have shown the station could safely operate beyond 2030 if NASA and its international partners choose to do so.

Feature Stories

Commercial opportunities in low earth orbit.

ISS is hitting its stride as an incubator and business model in the commercial space ecosystem. Among the entities benefiting from ISS access is the Boeing-founded Genes in Space, a STEM contest that challenges students to design DNA analysis experiments for the ISS National Lab (managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, or CASIS). Winners’ experiments are launched to ISS to be performed by astronauts, with published results.

Genes in Space 2019 winners Finsam Samson and Yujie Wang designed an experiment to analyze the impact of microgravity on gene expression. Their work may enable medical interventions for astronauts while in space, and therapies for people with stress-related health conditions on Earth.

Boeing also partners with the ISS U.S. National Lab on the MassChallenge startup accelerator’s “Technology in Space” competition. Winning companies receive funding and the opportunity to have their research conducted on the station so they can advance them to market. Qlibrium of Boston had its patch-sized, wearable drug-delivery pump launched to ISS in 2020. The technology holds promise for improved medicine delivery on Earth and on voyages through deep space.

Expanding science and technology development in low Earth orbit means expanding access. Boeing collaborated with Nanoracks on the payload services provider’s Bishop Airlock on ISS. It will open the station to more commercial users and research.

space station virtual tour

Benefits for Deep Space Exploration

The United States’ goal of sustained human exploration of deep space relies on advanced technologies such as surface habitats.

Boeing’s deep-space surface habitat concept builds on the company’s experience from designing, building and operating the ISS for more than 20 years, including recent advances such as superefficient lithium-ion batteries and roll-out solar arrays. Boeing is working on a habitation module and an airlock module that doubles as additional living/work space.

The ISS also gives researchers a unique environment to investigate the physiological and psychological effects of long-duration spaceflight, and to test deep-space technologies, in preparation for crewed missions to the Moon and Mars.

Boeing's Gateway demonstrator in Huntsville, Ala.

Boeing Surface Habitat Demonstrator - Exterior

Interior of Boeing's Gateway demonstrator

Boeing Surface Habitat Demonstrator – Habitation Module

Interior of Boeing's Gateway Demonstrator

Boeing Surface Habitat Demonstrator – Research Area

Sustainability Is Built In

The International Space Station has inspired sustainability efforts here on Earth. From the station's smaller, more efficient solar arrays to its global humanitarian applications, see how discoveries on orbit help us innovate for a better tomorrow

ISS Video Tour

This NASA fly-through of the International Space Station uses a fisheye lens for extreme focus and depth of field. It’s narrated by Boeing Mission Evaluation Room Manager Jennifer Hammond.

International Space Station Gallery

space station virtual tour

International Space Station Technical Specifications

The nations of the international space station.

NASA selected Boeing as prime contractor for the International Space Station on Aug. 17, 1993, and the original cost-plus-award-fee contract began on Jan. 13, 1995. Boeing is responsible for maintaining the station at peak performance levels so the full value of the unique research laboratory is available to NASA, its international partners, other U.S. government agencies and private companies.

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The World's Most Captivating Immersive Space Experience

INSPIRED BY NASA MISSIONS

EMBARK ON A JOURNEY TO SPACE

After having fascinated 400,000 visitors, space explorers: the infinite arrives in vancouver featuring new content captured in space, promising a captivating experience for visitors..

Prepare yourself for a powerful immersive experience inspired by NASA missions aboard the International Space Station. On this unique journey, you will have access to never-seen-before 360-degree videos captured in space using advanced technology. Witness breathtaking views of Earth and gain a unique perspective into the daily life of astronauts through exclusive encounters with the international crew.

Now it's your turn to experience firsthand what life is like in orbit, without ever leaving the ground!

THE EXPERIENCE

Embark on an hour-long immersive excursion through four captivating chapters that will reveal the many wonders of space exploration.

A JOURNEY THROUGH SPACE

This is your chance to witness the newest content captured by astronauts at the forefront of space exploration and to live a powerful journey that only a few people have had the privilege to experience in real life. Take part in the first-ever spacewalk captured in virtual reality and discover breathtaking views of Earth and majestic sunrises. It's so realistic and vivid that it feels like you're there.

EXPLORING THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

Let your curiosity be your guide as you roam freely in the International Space Station and travel seamlessly between the exterior and interior of the station. Observe other visitors as shimmering, celestial avatars and touch interactive orbs dispersed throughout the ISS showcase exclusive virtual reality content shot onboard and in space.

INTIMATE ENCOUNTERS WITH ASTRONAUTS

Take your immersive journey to the next level by getting up close and personal with the astronauts like never before. Gain insight into their daily life orbiting Earth, share a meal with them side-by-side, and be inspired by their remarkable personal stories. Your exclusive pass to be part of the crew has arrived!

THE UNIVERSE WITHIN THE UNIVERSE

Experience a sense of weightlessness in the pitch-black expanse. Using an LED ceiling and mirrored floor, Ryoji Ikeda's audiovisual installation: The Universe within the Universe is a mesmerizing journey of orchestrated sound & light.

SPACE EXPLORERS: THE INFINITE

Opens November 15, 2023

ROCKY MOUNTAINEER - Vancouver Station

1755 Cottrell St, Vancouver, BC V6A 2L8

The Critics Rave

"It's going to leave you changed. I was literally crying, it's so immersive. and so absolutely beautiful.

"I am in awe. I'm not even exaggerating. It is amazing!" "Life-changing. Do not miss it."

HOUSTON LIFE

"It's unbelievable. I was speechless. You feel like you are just perched atop the Space Station. You can see Earth right there, even inside the Space Station, you're hearing conversations that the astronauts are having. It's like a front row seat to something you never thought you would be able to do."

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

"[This] virtual reality space experience is so realistic it made astronauts cry."

THE GAZETTE

"The 45-minute or so experience left me tearful and in even more awe of astronauts."

RADIO-CANADA

"I was sitting next to David St-Jacques, shoulder to shoulder."

"This new immersive experience in Montreal takes you into space, and it's surreal!"

THE VISITOR REVIEWS

"It was beyond incredible! I felt like I was actually flying on the Space Station with the astronauts. It was as if I actually got to go to space."

"This was fabulous. You actually feel like you are walking in space."

"A once in a lifetime experience."

"This was one of the most amazing things we have ever done."

PRODUCED BY

INFINITY EXPERIENCES

A JOINT VENTURE AND CREATIVE COLLABORATION BETWEEN

FELIX & PAUL AND PHI STUDIOS

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

TIME STUDIOS

PRESENTED BY

TANDEM VIRTUELLE ACROSS CANADA

  • Houston, USA
  • West Palm Beach, USA
  • Charlotte, USA

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collectSPACE.com

Houston, you are go for a spacewalk: 'The Infinite' launches VR space station tours

"You look down you see planet Earth, you look around, you see the gigantic space station and the astronauts — there's something vertiginous about it."

The Infinite, a VR experience offering interactive, immersive tours of the International Space Station, is now open in Houston, Texas, marking its premiere in the United States.

There is a moment in The Infinite , if you are standing in the right place at the right time, where you can find yourself in front of NASA astronaut Drew Morgan as he tries to describe what it is like to come on board the International Space Station for the first time. Try as he might, he cannot find the words to properly capture the feeling.

"Amazing ... incredible," he says, as he rattles off adjectives that just do not do the moment justice.

"It is a spiritual experience," he concludes.

Morgan — or at least a virtual reality, 3D recording of Morgan — is attempting to share what he felt in July of 2019, as he became a member of the space station's 60th expedition crew. His words resonate, but for an added reason that he was unable of knowing at the time.

For Morgan is not only describing his own experience; he was also unknowingly voicing what many, if not all of the people standing in the 6,000-square-foot [650-sq.-meter] event space watching him are going through at that instant as well.

Related: 'The Infinite' VR space station tour to premiere spacewalk in Houston

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space station virtual tour

Welcome to The Infinite , an immersive VR installation that transports participants from the ground — in this case, downtown Houston — to Earth orbit for a half hour walking tour of the space station, followed by an eight-minute seated spacewalk that is like nothing anyone who is not an astronaut has seen before.

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"It's a step into the metaverse, you know the buzzword everybody's talking about," Stéphane Rituit, co-founder and chief executive officer of Felix & Paul Studios , the creative team behind the space-based footage in The Infinite, said in an interview with collectSPACE.com. "Here you can interact. You, coming with your friends and family, have your avatar, you see them evolving in space, you walk into the inside of the space station, inside and outside the space station, and you decide which content you watch at any time."

The Infinite, which is produced in collaboration with PHI Studio, is based on Felix & Paul's Emmy Award-winning " Space Explorers: The ISS Experience ," the largest ever media project to be filmed in space, created in partnership with TIME Studios. For two and a half years, astronauts on the real space station used a special camera rig to capture themselves and their surroundings in high definition, 3D, 360-degree virtual reality.

"Space Explorers," which is available for the Oculus line of VR headsets , offers a multi-chapter, cinematic presentation for individuals to experience at home alone. The Infinite builds off that by placing the scenes from "Space Explorers" into the context of a full-scale, VR reproduction of the station, which up to 150 people can explore together at a time.

There are 65 VR clips to discover in The Infinite, spread across four chapters, which are positioned around (both inside and outside) the International Space Station.

"You don't see everything because there are 65 videos to watch — two hours of content — and when you come here you get 35 minutes. But then, when you get out, there's so much you can talk about each other's experience with your friends and family," Rituit said.

It also creates a compelling reason to come back again, as if spending 35 minutes "in space" is not reason enough.

The Infinite debuted in Montreal in July, where it ran for four months. It opened in Houston on Monday (Dec. 20), marking its U.S. premiere and the world's first look at a spacewalk filmed in virtual reality.

First, though, you have to take your seat. After walking through the modules — literally and, well, literally: you can choose to follow the paths set forth by the walls of the station's rooms or you can walk through the walls and discover scenes filmed outside of the outpost — a voice instructs everyone to follow a lighted path into a virtual room where virtual seats line up with real life cushioned chairs.

"We felt that at some point, we wanted audiences to have a calmer moment at the end," said Félix Lajeunesse, co-founder, creative director and the "Felix" in Felix & Paul Studios. "And because it is a spacewalk. you spend eight minutes being transported on a gigantic robotic arm in the vacuum of space. You look down you see planet Earth, you look around, you see the gigantic space station and the astronauts — there's something vertiginous about it."

"So we thought if we have people sitting down, and not only sitting down, but even leaning back a little bit, feeling that you are enveloped and that you're in a safe environment, you might be able to really let go and experience the spacewalk," Lajeunesse told collectSPACE.

The spacewalk is all at once both exhilarating and awe-inspiring. As a pair of astronauts work to configure the mount for a new solar array , your attention cannot help but be drawn to Earth rotating above, or below, depending on your perspective. It is the ultimate giant screen film, but without any edges to bring you back to reality.

The Infinite ends with an art installation by visual and sound artist Ryoji Ikeda, but the space station is the highlight of the visit. It is the closest that most people will ever get to visiting the orbiting laboratory, which for more than 20 years have been continuously crewed.

The Infinite is now open at Sawyer Yards in downtown Houston through Feb. 20. The public can save $7 off the $36 admission ticket by booking a visit on or before Jan. 12. Children under the age of 8 are not admitted. Children between 8 and 12 years old must be accompanied by an adult and a waiver must be signed if using an Oculus headset.

Looking for more virtual reality ways to explore space? You can check out our guides to the best VR space games and best VR space experiences . 

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2021 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Robert Z. Pearlman

Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com , an online publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018. He previously developed online content for the National Space Society and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, helped establish the space tourism company Space Adventures and currently serves on the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society, the advisory committee for The Mars Generation and leadership board of For All Moonkind. In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History.

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COMMENTS

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  11. Space Explorers: THE INFINITE

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    With real footage from the ISS, Tacoma interactive exhibit "The Infinite" replicates the sensation of human spaceflight with a massive virtual reality experience.

  14. International Space Station

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  15. Space Explorers: THE INFINITE

    Let your curiosity be your guide as you roam freely in the International Space Station and travel seamlessly between the exterior and interior of the station. Observe other visitors as shimmering, celestial avatars and touch interactive orbs dispersed throughout the ISS showcase exclusive virtual reality content shot onboard and in space.

  16. Houston, you are go for a spacewalk: 'The Infinite' launches VR space

    Morgan — or at least a virtual reality, 3D recording of Morgan — is attempting to share what he felt in July of 2019, as he became a member of the space station's 60th expedition crew.