By Goya Dmytryshchak
A lifelike sculpture of the moon has landed at Scienceworks alongside a lunar virtual reality experience opening next week.
Museum of the Moon by UK artist Luke Jerram is a seven-metre luminous spherical sculpture with each centimetre representing five kilometres of actual moon surface.
It was created using high-resolution NASA imagery. It will accompany the
Earthlight: Lunar Hub experience which has been described as a cross between gaming and space exploration.
Melbourne-based outfit Opaque Space, which worked with NASA on astronaut-training, created the simulated space environment where six players walk on the moon.
It’s the first time the 40-minute experience, which involves moving about with gaming headsets and backpack PCs, has been available to the public.
Scienceworks general manager Jonathan Shearer said the experience took virtual reality to a new level.
“The graphics are so realistic, I felt like I was really walking on the moon,” he said.
“Visitors are going to be awestruck by this experience.”
Museum of the Moon and Earthlight: Lunar Hub opened on December 1 at Scienceworks, 2 Booker Street, Spotswood.
Goya Dmytryshchak
