Smithsonian Channel is launching an immersive AR app on Monday, June 24 that allows viewers to experience and interact with the full timeline of the Moon program through moments from the net’s six-part series Apollo’s Moon Shot. The app’s interactive features and access to Apollo 11 artifacts from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum reveal new secrets from the mission and put users right in the action of NASA in 1969. Users with AR-compatible smart phones and tablets can download the Apollo’s Moon Shot app for free now.
“The ‘Apollo’s Moon Shot AR’ app is our first experiment using augmented reality in our storytelling, and it allows viewers to experience history in a far more personal way,” said Charles Poe, SVP of Production, Smithsonian Channel. “We consider this app the seventh episode in the series – combining the full timeline of the race to the moon with AR modules that let viewers participate in the mission, interact with real Apollo artifacts and share their experiences through social media. You can even step through a portal onto the moon and see the Apollo 11 astronauts in action, then share a video of it with friends.”
App features include:
- Shoot off a Saturn V rocket from any location – from your living room to your office to Times Square!
- Take a selfie while suited up in the authentic Apollo 11 spacesuit.
- Step through a portal onto the Moon to explore the lunar landscape.
- Pilot the Apollo Lander on its treacherous descent to the Moon’s surface.
- Fly a rocket from Earth to the Moon without running out of fuel.
- Step inside the very same command module Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins used to complete the mission – get a close-up of handwritten notes left by the astronauts in the module.
- Navigate an interactive timeline to learn about the extraordinary history of the Space Age, with quizzes, videos and fascinating facts that bring the past to life.
- Get up close and personal with rare Apollo 11 artifacts and paraphernalia from NASA’s lunar missions, including authentic 3D scans of Neil Armstrong’s space suit and the Lunar Command Module.
- Watch exclusive clips from episodes of Smithsonian Channel’s “Apollo’s Moon Shot.”
- Record and share all of your experiences on social media.
