Reach Across The Stars

A XR journey that lets you virtually “meet” female STEM heroes

Women are featured in short “stories” (one to two minutes) and longer “journeys” (five to eight minutes). Some of the women in the stories of this new app include computer scientist Grace Hopper, astronomer Nancy Roman, mathematician Katherine Johnson, physicist and chemist Marie Curie and astronauts Mae Jemison and Sally Ride.

In the app’s journeys, a current scientist takes viewers into her work environment, recalling her favorite career moments as well as challenges and obstacles. Some of the feature stories combine audio interviews, video, 3D environments and 360-degree virtual reality content to let viewers peek into the worlds of these scientific heroes.

A user can explore NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory astronaut Cady Coleman, tour the Crab Nebula pulsar with astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the Mars 2020 rover with Christina Hernandez, an instrument engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The project received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, Because of Her Story. Launched in 2018, Because of Her Story is one of the country’s most ambitious undertakings to research, collect, document, display and share the compelling story of women.

Support also comes from Chandra. The Chandra X-ray Observatory, one of NASA’s “Great Observatories,” has a special connection to the Smithsonian as its science and operations center is at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Massachusetts. The Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra X-ray Center on behalf of NASA.