Space Descent VR

Using breakthroughs in virtual production, experience what it feels like to sit inside the Soyuz Descent Module as it makes its journey back to earth.

Visitors to London’s Science Museum join the UK’s first ESA astronaut Tim Peake in a virtual reality descent from the International Space Station to the steppes of Kazakhstan, in the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft. In this 12-minute 360 degree 3D state-of-the-art virtual reality experience, visitors are transported inside one of the most enduring spacecraft of the modern age.

Using the very latest in VR technology, viewers experience what it feels like to sit inside the Soyuz’s descent module as it makes its journey back to earth, traveling at speeds of over 7,000kph and reaching temperatures of around 1600ºC. The experience was commissioned to accompany the Science Museum Group’s landmark acquisition of the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft for exhibition. The photo-realistic CG imagery is in such high resolution that it took 100 computers a 1 month to render the experience.

“Breathtaking … and that comes from someone who has spent an awful lot of time using VR systems while training for my first mission. Science Museum visitors are going to experience something that truly is very close to the real thing!”

Tim Peake,
British Astronaut

Space Descent VR brought the excitement of space travel directly to students across the UK

The experience was taken on a nationwide tour inside a specially adapted VR bus. Equipped with multiple headsets, the mobile experience visited more than 60 schools and reached over 50,000 students, bringing the excitement of space exploration directly into classrooms and inspiring young audiences across the UK.