Standing On Psyche – Interactive
Tommy Desjardins
February 20th, 2026
Major: 3D Digital Design
Genre/Medium: Unreal Engine, Projections/Physical room
About the Work:
Standing on Psyche invites visitors to step onto the surface of the distant metallic asteroid Psyche. Projected across a panoramic wall, visitors see the mission from an entirely new perspective. This interactive environment recreates Psyche’s rugged landscape and the orbiting spacecraft exploring it. The exhibit combines many working theories of what Psyche’s surface might look like. This artistic rendering of the asteroid shows a gravel-like regolith covering solid rocky ground. Craters from ancient impacts with other asteroids form steep valleys, and occasionally reveal bright patches of raw metal buried just beneath the rocky surface.
The immersive display uses Unreal Engine’s real-time rendering technology to simulate Psyche’s extreme environment. Low gravity, stark lighting, and the subtle glint of metal-rich terrain are simulated in a realistic game world.
The exhibit is also designed for interaction. Through their mobile devices, visitors can connect directly to the simulation, using their phone’s sensors to learn about Psyche in real time.
Standing on Psyche is part of NASA’s ongoing effort to inspire curiosity about our solar system and to share the excitement of exploring worlds beyond Earth. It showcases how modern visualization and interactive design can bring NASA’s missions closer to the public, transforming data and research into a tangible experience.
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