10 a.m. EST,, Saturday February 20th

Cosmic Environment and Immersive VR experiences

Developments in media technologies have given rise to virtual reality travel in outer space, enabling immersive experiences of cosmic environments without leaving the Earth. These VR experiences continue to increase in popularity, fidelity and range, altering human relations with the inhuman expanses of space. Highlighting VR space tours as a symptomatic register of the evolving relationship between humans, technologies and environments, we address the ways in which they inflect the species’ aspirations to make ourselves at home out there. Katarina Damjanov is a Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication at the University of Western Australia, while David Crouch, also at UWA, is an Honorary Research Fellow of Law and Education.