Astronaut David Saint-Jacques, who has spent more than 200 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), is reliving this milestone in his life as a scientist thanks to the virtual reality experience Space explorers: INFINITY.
The 53-year-old engineer, astrophysicist and family doctor speaks of a “great travel album” for him, he said on Thursday during a press tour of the immersive travel extravaganza, which is set in Montreal’s Old Port.
MARIO BEAUREGARD/QMI AGENCY
Felix & Paul Studios co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Félix Lajeunesse with astronaut David Saint-Jacques.
Two years after the world premiere presented in the metropolis, the general public of Quebec can enjoy a journey adorned with new images filmed outside the ISS in 3D and 360-degree virtual reality.
QMI Agency participated in the immersive 45-minute circuit on Thursday. Equipped with a virtual reality helmet with headphones, the journalists visited the ISS and met an international team of astronauts. They even had the opportunity to ‘float’ in space to watch two astronauts at work during a spacewalk, allowing them to admire the blue planet in all its glory.
“I spent a lot of time outside the station today looking at the dome and looking for places to listen to my friends. It’s like going back there,” said Saint-Jacques.
From December 3, 2018 to June 24, 2019, it orbited the earth 3,264 times, covering 139,096,495 kilometers on board the ISS. We can also see it in the ISS during the immersive experience.
“It really warms my heart to know that it’s so easy for so many people [de vivre] this experience, it’s really realistic, I find myself there. If you found it interesting, you were up there,” he added, saying that as a scientist, he gets excited about sharing the experience of astronauts with as many people as possible, including young people.
It’s just amazing to find yourself in the ISS as if we were there, we who will never go to space. We can move through the ISS modules and, thanks to explanation bubbles that we activate with our hands, 3D videos are broadcast in which we can see astronauts doing research or explain to us the fruits of their work. . There are many bubbles along the way, so you can’t get them all in one go, so each person has their own journey through space.
MARIO BEAUREGARD/QMI AGENCY
The flow of the immersive experience “Space Explorers: INFINITY” extends over 45 minutes.
MARIO BEAUREGARD/QMI AGENCY
The space where the immersive experience takes place.
MARIO BEAUREGARD/QMI AGENCY
More than 100,000 onlookers are expected in the Old Port over the coming months to try out the experience.
A highly creative studio
All of these experiences, filmed in 3D and 360-degree virtual reality, are credited to the Montreal team at Felix & Paul Studios, who were able to install their state-of-the-art cameras, proudly developed at home, onboard the ISS and on the Canadian arm to capture stunning take pictures. Felix & Paul Studios and Studio PHI have teamed up for this project and formed a joint venture called INFINITY Experiences. Filming outside the ISS spanned over a week, and by deploying the Canadian arm to its full extent, we were able to collect some incredible images of Earth.
So far, 250,000 curious people have been able to see “Space Explorers: INFINITY,” especially in Houston, a mecca for space exploration as NASA headquarters. At least 100,000 onlookers are expected in the Old Port over the next few months.
David Saint-Jacques, part of the Apollo generation, knows that today’s young people will be as fascinated by space and the moon as he is thanks to the Artemis program, the brand new chapter in space exploration.
MARIO BEAUREGARD/QMI AGENCY
Astronaut David Saint-Jacques spent more than 200 days on the International Space Station from December 3, 2018 to June 24, 2019, orbiting the Earth 3,264 times and covering 139,096,495 kilometers.
Felix & Paul Studios won’t stop there. He has a live broadcast project from the ISS and his cameras are already following the astronauts on the Artemis II mission. “We started filming training Artemis astronauts for future missions a year ago. Therefore, it is our intention to continue to support the human space exploration program for years to come,” said Félix Lajeunesse, co-founder and chief creative officer of Felix & Paul Studios.
Tickets are available online [theinfiniteexperience.world/montreal].