Explore the universe with virtual reality

© 2021 EPFL / Alain Herzog Have you ever wanted to explore outer-space? Now you can, without leaving Earth, thanks to powerful, open-source beta software VIRUP that builds - in real-time - a virtual universe based on the most detailed contemporary astrophysical and cosmological data. of this article. You're floating in space, just above the Earth. The International Space Station is an arm's length away. You twist your head around only to see the moon, a tiny circle, far off in the distance. You can't help but think that this is probably what an astronaut would see during a space-walk. This is the beginning of a journey into outer-space, in a virtual environment developed by scientists.