While the VR world seems to be in a hype over the latest and greatest games coming out, along with ways to make playing less frustrating, the true core of VR has begun to push its seeds into an unlikely but logical area of expertise. With games such as No Man’s Sky and similar games coming out to market, the VR world has begun to set its sights even higher; Space Training.
NASA Uses VR
You can’t just sign an agreement with NASA to have an officially sponsored Space Training game, but that doesn’t stop NASA from utilizing VR as seen above. The tricky part about NASA is that it is a government entity, which means it cannot endorse any singular company or else it will have some potentially unwarranted consequences. As such, since space-type games have come into existence we have dealt with kinda-like-NASA-endorsed-it games in that the game is based on as much information as NASA would give to a gaming company.
A First Good Glimpse At Space Training
Having said that, Earthlight is the newest game that can give us a glimpse as to what Space Training would really be like. This game has only been available to a select few as it is still in Alpha right now and it doesn’t look like the company is ready to release the game to the public.
Meanwhile, other companies also see the potential here such as Three One Zero who came out with ADR1FT. This game is out for the systems and VR is included, but it’s nowhere near as graphically intense as the other. Both of these provide a good first glimpse into what Space Training could be like.
Benefits of Space Training
Space Training costs a lot of money, primarily because NASA has to build an exact replica of whatever they intend to create so that real tests can be performed. This includes having the largest pool in the world to bury the $150 Billion ISS into. Replace that with a water-proof VR headset, feeling simulation gear, and a normal sized pool and you have the savings of billions of dollars in the future because VR can simulate any environment, let alone the ISS. The best part is that you would be able to enjoy such training because the cost would be so low. Even now, you could provide most of the simulation for this type of training.
Space Training For Fitness
This is a new frontier for common fitness, which is why a lot of the studies for using this type of exercise remain relatively untouched. It is well known that space can cause atrophy due to the loss of bone structure endured. However, this type of training refers to Space Space Training and not Planetary Space Training. In order to train to be on planets, astronauts often have to take G-Force training and weight training. The amount of calories you burn by simply standing on another planet that has twice the G-Force as our own planet is twice the calories you normally burn standing here.
The way this works is that your body burns calories already as it resists the gravitational pull of the planet. You don’t notice this since you’ve been resisting this since you were born. There are two other ways your body burns calories, which are heat stabilization and organ utilization. When you are cold, your body burns extra calories to stabilize the temperature. In addition to this, your body also needs to use calories to keep organs functioning.
All of this is designed to keep you alive, but it is also your body’s natural weight loss system. Being in cold water, wearing a breathing apparatus and weight gear, and simulating a Planetary VR is a combination to burn so many calories that no other exercise could compare to it. While it is still relatively unexplored, Space Training offers a set of unique promises like no other system.
