Description

The Desert RATS Virtual Test Site is a 3-Denvironment that combines NASA models with topography and satelliteimagery to bring the Arizona analog to your mobile device. Navigateyour avatar around the 2011 Base Camp to see hardware NASA istesting in the field. Visit kiosks at each asset to learn about howit fits into the future of space exploration and link to theprojects on the web. An aerial map is also provided to show NASAscience sites along the Black Point Lava Flow and share thequestions geologists hope to answer during the outing.

About Desert RATS:
For 14 years NASA's Desert Research and Technology Studies (DesertRATS) analog has brought together scientists and engineers to testrobotic equipment, vehicles, habitats, space suits, communications,and power generation and storage in remote locations similar tofuture destinations in space. The teams evaluate mobility,infrastructure, and effectiveness in the harsh environments, andconduct scientific studies similar to those that would be performedon the moon, near Earth asteroids, or Mars and its moons. Analogslike Desert RATS provide NASA with data about strengths,limitations, and the validity of planned human-robotic explorationoperations, and help define ways to combine human and roboticefforts to enhance scientific exploration. Other NASA analoglocations include the Antarctic, oceans, and arctic and volcanicenvironments.