AR/WebXR for Public Engagement – VCU – C
INSTITUTION
Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
CLASS
Iridium Class (2024 – 2025)
STUDENT TEAM
ACADEMIC GUIDANCE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The NASA Psyche mission is an orbiter mission to the metal-rich asteroid, Psyche, in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The spacecraft, which launched in October 2023 and will arrive at the asteroid in mid-2029, will study the asteroid from orbit and will not land on the surface. The NASA Psyche mission has a large-scale 3D-printed model of its target asteroid. QR codes on the body of the 3D-printed asteroid allow museum visitors or students to use their smartphones to “orbit” the asteroid and “collect data” by scanning the codes. To increase the engagement of this activity, the team will develop AR or WebXR projects (https://immersive-web.github.io/webxr-samples/) for this model in order to explain something about the mission. Once complete, these projects will be incorporated onto the Psyche website (https://psyche.asu.edu) and shared with NASA’s Museum & Informal Education Alliance for use in museums and classrooms around the country and the world.