To infinity and beyond – well at least to Europa

I find the innovations of what is to come exciting and have always been a big fan of AR (Augmented Reality).  I was delighted to watch a National Geographic documentary last night on Journey to Europa and see AR being used for the design and construction of the new space craft, Europa Clipper, that is to go to Jupiter’s moon Europa.  They explained how they designed the entire space craft in AR space, within a computer, without a single item being physically built.  The designers wear a headset which allows them to see the environment around them and also a virtual model of their design that they can interact with within this virtual space.  They can move and draw elements within that space.  It was also an, ‘Of course!’, moment where it is obvious this technology, typically used in the medical, infrastructure and building disciplines, would be great for across so many disciplines and why not for building spacecraft!  It makes me wonder just how much virtual design is going on with the other space craft designs we are seeing.