NASA has hosted the ‘Martian Metaverse Creation Challenge’, a competition for developers and creators who create Mars meta-space experiences.
This competition, held in partnership with Epic Games, an American video game company, is regarding modeling a metaverse world called MarsXR, which maps 400 km2 of Mars terrain, using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5.
The challenge is intended for use by NASA in research focused on Ecsta vehicle activity on the surface of Mars. Developers around the world will use Epic Games’ Unreal Engine to create realistic virtual Mars environments for the experiences and situations they will encounter on Mars.
Unreal Engine 5, Epic Games’ programming engine, is well known for providing realistic environments. It has also recently raised large investments, including $1 billion from Sony and $1 billion from Kiribi, which owns LEGO.
The prize money of the Martian Metaverse Creation Challenge is $70,000, and the awards are divided into 20 categories. The average prize money for each category is regarding $6,000. The deadline for application submission is July 26, and the winner will be selected on September 27 following a two-month evaluation period.
According to foreign media reports, 25 teams and 266 participants have already applied for the challenge. Developers participating in the challenge will help create virtual reality (XR) assets and scenarios for NASA to use for research focused on extra-space activities on the surface of Mars.
“Using Unreal Engine, creators can use Unreal Engine to build realistic simulation scenarios that help prepare NASA for future missions,” said Seb Loze, director of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine Simulation business. “Game designers, architects, and hobbyists , rocket scientists, anyone can build with UE5, and we are very excited regarding the immersive simulations the community provides.”
