Despite what some billionaires might want, we aren’t yet at the point where anyone can just book a ticket online to visit space, which means if you want to get a taste of the great beyond, you need to use some more mundane methods. Personally, these are some of the ways I’ve experienced outer space on Earth.
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Virtual Reality
By far, the best way I’ve found to get some sort of feeling that I’m in space is through the magic of virtual reality. You’ll find plenty of VR videos taken in space (for real) by astronauts, but the most barf-inducing experience I’ve personally had is a brilliant game called ADR1FT which was one of the first VR games I ever tried, and it still makes my stomach turn today.
That said, hanging over the Earth in my EVA suit and looking down is one heck of an experience!
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Space Live Streams
Through the modern miracles of the internet and digital cameras, you can watch live streams from space right now at the click of a button. Here’s one from the International Space Station.
Of course, there are routine signal breaks, but while the stream is going (or you can just watch a recording) why not put one of these videos on your TV and you can pretend you’re on the ISS and it’s a window!
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IMAX Documentaries
When I was a city-slicker I used to live near an IMAX theater, and from time to time they’d have a documentary that involved space. That stadium projection system did a great job of making you feel like you were there, and it’s less expensive than astronaut training.
If you missed your chance to see one of these docs in an actual IMAX, you can always buy their space documentaries on disc, like the IMAX Space Collection. If you have a projector at home, even better!
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Some, like Samsung’s The Freestyle family of projectors can be easily set up to project against your ceiling, so you can make your own IMAX at home. At least this way you can do it in bed and don’t have to pay ludicrous amounts for popcorn.
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Thanks to internet in space (and down here on Earth, of course) astronauts can take part in social media just like anyone else. So if you follow their social media accounts, you’ll get daily doses of what it’s like to be in space, or what it’s like when astronauts are down here on Earth between missions. It’s why we get amazing stuff like seeing Chris Hadfield sing David Bowie songs in space.
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Space Computer Simulations
We’ve been simulating space since 1963’s Spacewar! From goofy (yet educational) sims like Kerbal Space Program to more serious fare like Universe Sandbox, if you have a computer you have some way of experiencing an aspect of space with it. Persnonally, I like whizzing around in Elite Dangerous using my VR headset and a flight stick.
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Planetariums
Like IMAX theaters, I used to live within an hour’s drive of a planetarium, and though I didn’t visit it often, when we did go there was nothing quite like it. Having a real astronomer there to talk you through it all (and amazing scientifically-accurate projections) is one of the best ways to feel like you’re in space, while also learning about space.
Then, there’s also using a telescope or just looking up at the night sky, but I thought those were too obvious!
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