NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe travelled for 40 years until it reached the edge of the solar system. As the machine traversed the border of the heliosphere into interstellar space, Voyager 1 transmitted an enormous dataset of cosmic discoveries.

Google and NASA tasked The Endless Co. with translating Voyager 1 data into virtual environments that visualized the farthest point ever reached by an entity from Earth.

SOLUTION

• Algorithmically processed Voyager 1 dataset, including everything from magnetic fields to cosmic rays
• Billions of bits of particle information compiled in Houdini to render a series of colorful and gaseous data visualizations
• 360° visuals and ambisonic soundscapes represent the particles and rays of interstellar space as if they were intelligible to the human eye

RESULTS

Our Voyager 1 visualization became a centerpiece of a VR film directed by Google’s chief filmmaker, Jessica Brillhart. Beethoven’s Fifth was exhibited and celebrated around the world, from SXSW to the Geneva International Film Festival. The project celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Voyager expeditions by making the outer-limits of human knowledge accessible to anyone with a VR headset.