Experience space like astronauts, immersive learning for doctors, and big things coming this year in VR

April 17th’s top VR links

SpaceX is taking SpaceVR’s cameras into orbit to deliver the astronaut experience to everyone through VR

It’s really cool to see VR being used to bring new perspectives to people. From SpaceVR’s CEO, Ryan Holmes:

“When [astronauts] go into space, they have this really deep, emotional feeling, it’s almost like they’re awakening to the universe… I saw them as being much better people, much more connected to other people [as a result of] seeing our place in the universe. I realized that once that happens to everyone, we’ll fundamentally live in a different world as a species, because we’ll all think differently. My goal is to catalyze that [astronaut experience] by sending this VR camera into space so people can really see what it’s like.”

Hospital makes $119 million bet on virtual, augmented reality center

The University of Nebraska Medical Center is getting a major facility upgrade that will include various immersive learning environments. From UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey Gold, MD:

“Learners do best by having experience, whether it’s learning how to play a sport, a musical instrument or, in my case, do cardiac surgery. The more experience, the more practice, the more hands-on opportunities we get, the better off we are to deliver high quality, safe, effective and patient-centered care. This center will achieve all of those goals and continue to bring Nebraska to the epicenter of the learning world.”

The 7 Biggest Things Coming to Virtual Reality This Year

There are many great things coming to VR this year, including new HMDs from Intel and Microsoft, and some high profile VR experiences. Check out this roundup for some of the highlights!