The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) believes that if you can’t put people on Mars, the next best thing is bringing Mars to the people.
William Weber, director of JPL’s Deep Space Network (DSN), wants to use NASA’s interplanetary communication system to excite the public about space exploration, and says JPL is looking for partners outside the traditional space industries.
“Public participation in planetary exploration is a fraction of what it could be,” Weber said at the JPL Industry Briefing last month, sponsored by the National Space Club’s West Coast Committee.
Weber wants to ensure that the network is used not only for communicating with far-flung spacecraft, but also for bringing “killer applications” to scientists and the public.
Some of JPL’s ideas include e-mail communication with Mars landers or rovers, creating 3-D images or virtual reality walks through martian landscapes and even using planetary imagery for backdrops in video games.
