by What do you do for an encore after you nearly transported thousands of Houstonians to the International Space Station?
If you’re Felix & Paul Studios, you invite them back for a flight to the moon.
“Space Explorers: THE INFINITE”, which made its US premiere in Houston three years ago, is now back in Space City for a second limited run. The interactive and immersive experience invites the public once again to explore a virtual replica of the International Space Station (ISS), allowing them to virtually feel what it’s like to be an astronaut.
The spin-off of “Space Explorers: The ISS Experience”, an Emmy award-winning series produced by Felix & Paul in association with TIME Studios, “THE INFINITE” combines footage from the largest production ever filmed in space – more than 200 an hour. of cinematic 3D 360 virtual reality footage shot over a period of nearly three years – along with a virtual model of the space station that encourages visitors to physically walk the maze’s layout while exploring 360-degree vignettes in many of its modules .
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“Everyone I met said, ‘I’m really looking forward to seeing him again, because every time I come here, it’s a different experience,'” Félix Lajeunesse, co-founder and chief creative officer of Felix & Paul Studios and creative director said ‘Space Explorers: THE INFINITE,’ in an interview with collectSPACE.com.
“There are 60 virtual reality scenes that you can activate when you visit the space station, inside and outside the ISS. Generally with one visit, you have time to see 12. So, it means when you come the second time or the third time or the fourth time or even the fifth time, it will be a different experience,” he said.
In its first incarnation, “THE INFINITE” completed the virtual reality portion of the experience with an opportunity to go outside the space station and witness astronauts on a spacewalk. The stunning scene was made possible by the first use of a VR camera outside the ISS, which is mounted on the station’s main robotic arm.
This was followed by a multi-room art installation by visual and sound artist Ryoji Ikeda that focused on the aesthetics of mathematical formulas.
Now, visitors go further into space through the 2022 launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 mission to revive the moon. The spacewalk and some of Ikeda’s work remain, but the experience culminates with the initial liftoff of the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy lift rocket, which was a major milestone in NASA’s efforts to return astronauts to the lunar surface , including landing the first. woman, the first person of color and the first non-American astronaut at the south pole of the moon.
Felix & Paul filmed the Artemis 1 launch and, for the first time, streamed it live in 360 degrees to full-dome theaters, planetariums and personal VR headsets. The same footage, captured by cameras located near the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, has been adapted as the finale for “THE INFINITE,” providing an unprecedented second showing.
Since being staged in Montreal and then in Houston, “THE INFINITE” has been staged in Tacoma, Washington; Richmond, California; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Denver, Colorado. Now back in Houston, “THE INFINITE” is scheduled to run through at least the end of June. Upcoming cities include West Palm Beach, Florida, opening on June 4th and Charlotte, North Carolina, starting on September 20th.
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“Of all the places we’ve been, Houston is the place we feel is the right fit for this show,” Lajeunesse said. “It took two and a half years to capture all the material in space, working with hundreds of people based here in Houston at the Johnson Space Center. And the astronauts, of course, were involved in the creation of the show based here too and their families were here.”
“So when we bring the experience here to Houston, it feels like we’re bringing the experience home,” he told collectSPACE.
“Space Explorers: THE INFINITE” is open Thursday through Sunday at Silver Street Studios at Sawyer Yards in Houston. Tickets run $35 for adults, with discounts available for children, seniors, students and members of the military. Group and family rates are also available.
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