In 2021, a team of hologram doctors was “holoported” to space to visit astronauts living aboard the International Space Station, NASA has revealed in a new post. The hologram teams, led by NASA flight surgeon Dr. Josef Schmid and Fernando De La Peña Llaca, CEO of software provider Aexa Aerospace, were the first humans to ever be “holoported” from Earth to space. 3d holograms

“This is completely new manner of human communication across vast distances,” Schmid said in the statement. “Furthermore, it is a brand-new way of human exploration, where our human entity is able to travel off the planet. Our physical body is not there, but our human entity absolutely is there.”

Holoportation team members are seen projected virtually on the International Space Station, Oct. 8, 2021. From left are Andrew Madrid, Dr. Fernando De La Pena Llaca, RIhab Sadik, Dr. Joe Schmid, Kevin Bryant, Mackenzie Hoffman, Wes Tarkington. Credits: ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet

“It doesn’t matter that the space station is traveling 17,500 mph and in constant motion in orbit 250 miles above Earth, the astronaut can come back three minutes or three weeks later and with the system running, we will be there in that spot, live on the space station,” Schmid added.

The medical teams holoported to the station on Oct. 8. Using the Microsoft Hololens Kinect camera and a personal computer with custom Aexa software, European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who was on board the station at that time, had a holo-conversation with Schmid and De La Pena’s teams. The holograms of the doctors were visible live in the middle of the space station.

How 3D holograms work?

The “holoportation” technology that enabled this event works using specialized image capture technology that reconstructs, compresses and transmits live 3D models of people. This technology couples with the HoloLens, a self-described “mixed reality headset” that combines sensors, optics and holographic processing tech to allow the wearer to see the hologram images or even enter a “virtual world.”

With the two systems combined, users in orbit can not only see hologram participants, but can also hear and interact with them. The technology is not new, but has never been used in an environment this challenging with users so far apart.

According to NASA, this “new form of communication” is a precursor for more extensive hologram use on future space missions. Next, the agency plans to try two-way hologram communication, in which they will send a hologram of the astronauts in space to Earth in addition to sending a hologram of Earth-bound users to space.

“We’ll use this for our private medical conferences, private psychiatric conferences, private family conferences and to bring VIPs onto the space station to visit with astronauts,” NASA officials wrote.

“Imagine you can bring the best instructor or the actual designer of a particularly complex technology right beside you wherever you might be working on it,” Schmid said.

“Furthermore, we will combine augmented reality with haptics,” Schmid said. Haptics   refers to technology that can simulate touch through things like vibrations or motors. “You can work on the device together, much like two of the best surgeons working during an operation. This would put everyone at rest knowing the best team is working together on a critical piece of hardware.”

The possible future applications of hologram technology in space are far-reaching, according to NASA. The tech could support everything from advanced medical treatment, mission support or even to connect astronauts with their families back on Earth. The tech could also prove especially useful for future crewed deep-space travel to destinations like Mars, where we know astronauts will face significant communication challenges and delays.

NASA flight surgeon, Dr. Josef Schmid gives a space greeting Oct. 8, 2021, as he is holoported on to the International Space Station. Credits: ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet

NASA is demonstrating this new form of communication as a precursor for more extensive use on future missions. Plans are to use this next with two-way communication, where people on Earth are holoported to space and astronauts are placed back on earth. “We’ll use this for our private medical conferences, private psychiatric conferences, private family conferences and to bring VIPs onto the space station to visit with astronauts.”

Holoportation technology has been developed by Microsoft since 2016 and has been tested in different scenarios, but this is the most radical and remote, as highlighted by NASA. One of the next steps will be the integration of augmented reality technology into the solution, to facilitate telemonitoring, both in the health area and in support of the professional tasks that astronauts perform on mission.

The next step after that is to combine holoportation with augmented reality, to truly enable Tele-mentoring.

“Imagine you can bring the best instructor or the actual designer of a particularly complex technology right beside you wherever you might be working on it. Furthermore, we will combine augmented reality with haptics. You can work on the device together, much like two of the best surgeons working during an operation. This would put everyone at rest knowing the best team is working together on a critical piece of hardware,” Schmid said.

Holoportation and tools like it could have great implications on the future of deep space travel. As plans shape up for missions to Mars, an obstacle to overcome will be the communication delays that are present during the travel to and from Mars. A delay of up to 20 minutes each way will present a unique challenge to communication whether through simple radio transmissions, video streams or new methods such as Holoportation. Communication is critical, whether for medical or mission support reasons, or staying in touch with family members. The crew will need to be connected with Earth and Mission Control, no matter where humans explore.

There are also direct applications here on Earth. Whether in other extreme environments such as Antarctica, offshore oil rigs or military operation theaters, this type of technology may help people in such situations communicate, bringing people together no matter the distance or environmental challenges. 3d holograms

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