Washington DC (UPI) Oct 25, 2021 NASA knows people can't travel to exoplanets light-years away, but...
NASA knows people can't travel to exoplanets light-years away, but the space agency hopes a new, highly fictionalized video will inspire dreams of such far-off travel.
The video depicts wild, even wacky, scenes of people kayaking in deadly methane lakes on Saturn's moon Titan, skydiving on exoplanet HD 40307-g, which is 42 light-years away, and watching twin suns on Kepler-16b - 200 light-years away.
NASA released the whimsical video, which is just over a minute long, last week.
NASA plans to send astronauts to the Red Planet in the 2030s.
Exoplanets that circle stars light-years away will have to wait, since NASA still has no way to travel even close to the speed of light.
The activities depicted in the video may be impossible, but creative teams worked to ensure the planetary conditions portrayed represent real science, said Chris Smith, who produced the video.
He said the video was created in-house by NASA employees who worked on it when they had a chance over a period of months, using existing equipment and props.
"That's what NASA is all about."
The first three posters released in 2015, which are free to download on NASA's website, weren't even meant for public viewing, NASA artist Joby Harris said in an interview.
NASA posted a formal request on a government website Wednesday, seeking companies that could provide astronaut transportation vehicles to the International Space Station by 2027.