UAE releases VR video tour of first city on Mars

The United Arab Emirates has released a stunning VR footage showing the vision for its planned colony on Mars where robots live alongside humans.

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The “Mars 2117” project was launched during the World Government Summit Organization in February 2017 by Sheikh Muhammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The project features several research streams related to living on Mars including housing, energy and food. It also explores ways to develop faster access to and from Mars, creating an integrated scientific vision for the first city on the red planet.

The video offers a rich simulated experience of human life on Mars, based on scientific and geographic data. It reinforces the fact that life on Mars is possible and seeks to inspire creative minds towards further innovation in the space industry.

An immersive 360-degree experience of the futuristic city giving the most detailed view yet, and the emirate seek to build in the next hundred years.

The video begins with a greeting from a holographic representative of the United Government of Mars, welcoming to your second home.  “On behalf of the United Government of Mars, I would like to welcome you to your second home.”

The digital host says that the scenes are set 70 years after mankind has set up a colony, suggesting the UAE envisions the first manned mission taking place in the year 2047. You then enter a flying pod that whisks you on a 1.5 mile (2.5km) ride, showing the sights of the city.

The City of Wisdom, as humanity’s first settlement on Mars will be known, comes complete with laboratories, a university, skyscrapers, beautiful architecture and 600,000 permanent inhabitants.

During the seven minute long tour, you are transported from the exterior of the planet’s surface to the inside of a number of large domed buildings.

The footage reveals a Hyperloop transport system in place at the colony, as well as all kind of robots, flying vehicles, crowds of people and vegetation.

Users need to view the video using a VR headset for the full immersive experience.

UAE announced last February its plans to participate in the global scientific race to send humans to the red planet. The race includes the NASA, aerospace technology giants SpaceX, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, the Chinese government, and private ventures like Mars One.

Speaking about the project in February, Sheikh Muhammad said: “The landing of people on other planets has been a longtime dream for humans.

“Our aim is that the UAE will spearhead international efforts to make this dream a reality.”

This includes the launch of a national program to recruit a team of scientists and researchers, and cement international scientific alliances, with the end goal of building the first city on Mars.

In 2020, UAE will send the first interplanetary mission by a Muslim country. The vehicle will enter orbit around the Red Planet in 2021, just in time for the 50th anniversary of the country’s founding.

The probe will carry out scientific observations of the Martian atmosphere and look for traces of water.