Exactly 50 years ago today, Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center with the mission of putting the first human beings on the Moon. And although humanity has only visited our celestial neighbor a handful of times since then, now it’s possible for anyone with a VR headset to strap in and experience the final frontier for themselves.

Here’s a few great space-themed experiences (in no particular order) to help you celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon mission.

Side note: You might want to wait on Apollo 11 VR until the big day—July 20th, when the Lunar lander finally touched down on the Moon’s surface.

Apollo 11 VR

  • Description: Now for the first time ever, you get to experience this historic event through the eyes of those who lived through it. Using a mix of original archive audio and video together with accurate recreations of the spacecraft and locations, all set to inspirational music. Take control for docking, landing and the moon walk. Get set for an experience that will not only educate you but will also leave a lasting impression and deep respect for the men and women who worked on the Apollo program during NASA’s golden era.
  • Developer: Immersive VR Education
  • Platform: Steam (Rift, Vive, Index) Oculus Store (Rift, Quest, Go, Gear VR), PlayStation Store (PSVR)
  • Price: $10 on PC VR, $12 on PSVR, $5 on Mobile VR

Watch Live SpaceX Launch in Bigscreen

  • Description: Catch the SpaceX launch live in VR via Bigscreen, the social VR platform that recently updated to include 50+ free livestreaming TV channels. A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 7:35 PM ET on Sunday, July 21st (local time here).
  • Developer: Bigscreen
  • Platform: Steam (Rift, Vive, Index), Oculus Store (Rift, Quest, Go, Gear VR)
  • Price: Free

Home – A VR Spacewalk

  • Description: Throw yourself into the void 250 miles above Earth in this award-winning VR spacewalk inspired by NASA’s training program and the astonishing experiences of its astronauts. Home puts you at the center of the story, taking you on an emotional and personal journey while delivering beautiful, heart-stopping, and memorable moments.
  • Developer: BBC
  • Platform: Steam (Rift, Vive, Index), Oculus Store (Rift)
  • Price: Free

SPHERES

  • Description: This three chapter interactive virtual reality journey uncovers the hidden songs of the cosmos. Space is not silent. It is full of sounds. We look to the stars to find our place in the Universe, but for the first time we listen to its music. From Writer/Director Eliza McNitt and Executive Producers Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel, this acclaimed experience premiered at Sundance and received the Grand Prize in VR at the Venice Film Festival.
  • Platform: Oculus Store (Rift)
  • Developer: Novelab
  • Price: $10

Mission: ISS

  • Description: Take a trip into orbit and experience life on board the International Space Station. In this Emmy-nominated simulation, learn how to move and work in zero-gravity using Touch controllers. Dock a space capsule, take a spacewalk, and let real NASA astronauts guide you on the ISS through archival video clips.
  • Developer: Magnopus
  • Platform: Oculus Store (Rift, Quest)
  • Price: Free

If you know of any great space-themed experiences on PSVR, make sure to leave us a comment below!

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Thomas Hall

    Not PSVR- but Lone Echo was/is amazing. One of the most powerful VR experiences ever- that first exit of the station airlock into Space- with Saturn hanging there. It left me speechless.

  • Wednaud Ronelus

    You should throw Mars 2030 in here. It’s a variation on a theme.

    • Immersive_Computing

      “Hello Mars” on Daydream was stunning

      • Mike

        Yeah, their simulator of the Mars rover is one of the few things of lasting value in VR. It took me quite a while to figure out how to flip it on its back like a turtle. It really goes to show what the Chinese can do with all that stuff made in the USA.

    • Bob

      Is this Trump?

  • jasonmartino
  • antonio mora

    Adrift, and of course Elite Dangerous

  • impurekind

    Apollo 11 VR

    Seriously, yes, try this awesome VR experience.

    And, this is already amazing, but just imagine what a newer VR version of this made in like another ten years is going to be like. . . .

    Mind boggles.

  • Darshan

    Mission ISS is also available on Oculus Go, thought go faces hardtime playback smooth, but it’s available n free.

    • Ben Grossmann

      And now Quest! :)

  • Moon Man

    Check it out! A great new VR Moon/Space app just released – Moonbuggy VR on Steam.
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1060460/Moonbuggy/
    This is a recreation of the Apollo 17 moon exploration by foot and by rover. Relive the dream of driving the classic Lunar Rover on the moon! 3D surface features are generated using photogrammetry from the astronauts actual photographs.