Orbiting Mars

Join an exciting deep-space mission to Mars and experience just what future astronauts orbiting the planet and landing there will see, feel and hear. And be back in time for lunch.

Experts from a United Kingdom group have used authentic data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States to produce a state-of-the-art, simulated exploratory
journey to the Red Planet for a space museum and other venues worldwide.

The Morphis ride system is a premier attraction and part of a special extension at the US Astronaut Hall of Fame near the Kennedy Space Station at Titusville, Florida. Morphis represents a new design
concept in the full-motion, entertainment simulator market.

As well as the Mars Mission ride, there are more than 40 other virtual experiences covering action, education and sports available for use on the Morphis system.

A spokesman for the Astronaut Hall of Fame said the company chose the Morphis machine because it was the best system to create the Mars virtual reality experience and it would be making the ride the
centrepiece attraction of the Astronaut Adventure area of the new Apollo Extension, a multi-million dollar investment.

The Morphis MovieRide Theatre experience allows visitors to fly a mission over Martian mountains, valleys and ravines · and even encounter a dust storm.

Camber's managing director Paul Spence said that UK experts were chosen because they have some of the best creative talent in the world for this kind of technology.

It is not a fantasy ride, Mr Spence explained, but is factual, educational and enjoyable at the same time. ``The mission involves carrying out a geological expedition on Mars some 20 or 30 years in
the future. The base station and vehicles are all based in genuine NASA concepts and the terrain is based scientifically on known data.''

The computer-generated terrain has been built by members of Bournemouth University, southern England, recognized by many in the field as the UK's leading centre for computer animation.

The video introduction to the space journey is built around Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17. ``Naturally, that experience made me wonder about the future of space exploration, especially deep-
space missions like a trip to Mars,'' he says.

``While training for that final moon landing, we used simulators to get familiar with our equipment and practise important procedures.''

Commander Cernan explains that the Morphis simulator gives a dramatic preview of what future astronauts might find on the planet. ``The engineers have done their best to make this realistic.

You'll see and hear and feel what the Mars astronauts might see and hear and feel. We rehearsed our moon landing missions over and over in simulators like this · hundreds of times. Mission
controllers threw practice problems at us; faulty instruments, defective computers, power failures · everything they could imagine. It really helped us be ready for surprises during the actual
landing."

The Apollo veteran is sure that it will be tens of years before astronauts really explore the giant canyon lands of Mars. But he says that today's young travellers on the Morphis space ride who
``board'' Mars Rover II for an expedition into the Ius Chasm may eventually get to walk on the Red Planet and drive an exploration vehicle in reality, and not just in virtual reality.

``But for now, this is the best way to learn what it might be like,'' concludes Gene Cernan. He is not exaggerating. The 14 to 20-seat Morphis is the first capsule entertainment simulator to combine
the technological advances of three-dimension surround sound, digital video and high performance dynamic motion, setting new standards in rider enjoyment and safety.

With the introduction of sleek space-age styling, the Morphis machine changes the shape of entertainment capsule simulators, transforming the aesthetic appeal to the public at the point of sale.

Recently Camber unveiled another product line, the seven-seat StarGazer motion theatre, that has become the latest attraction in the Skyview Visitor Centre at London's Gatwick Airport.

Managing director Paul Spence says: ``We believe that entertainment simulation was overdue for a total reassessment in terms of its ergonomics, aesthetic appearance and engineering design. Morphis
and StarGazer are the result and customer response has been very exciting.''

Freitag, 11. September 1998