On Tuesday 9th November 2021 at the Institute of Advanced Studies department, University College London (UCL) Virtual Reality Overview Effect (VROE) offered sessions to see the Earth from space via virtual reality. Dr Annahita Nezami and Charlie Perring (Founders of VROE) lead small groups of attendees through a 25-minute multisensory virtual reality experience analogous to the Overview Effect. The Overview Effect is considered a cognitive shift in awareness reported by many astronauts and cosmonauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit.
The Overview Effect can also be considered as a psychological state that can emerge when witnessing remarkable natural landscapes from an expansive vantage point, and Earthgazing from orbit or the Moon is the epitome of this experience.
We believe that immersive evidence-led Overview Effect experiences can play an important role in offsetting some of the unique challenges posed by 'deep space' missions, to Mars and beyond. As we look to expand into the solar system, we stand on a precipice of great change. with each step forward, we move closer to living and working beyond our known and familiar habitat– Earth. The success of our species journey's out into the cosmos will rely on our ability to not only sustain but also optimize health (both physical and mental).
After a 25 minute immersive VR experience participants were invited to answer questions about their experience, responses were used to contribute to research being carried out by VROE. Nicola Baldwin, a UK based playwright who wrote and directed a play on Helen Sharman called, Woman From Mars, had a delayed effect to the experience and she commented (Helen Sharman was the first British astronaut when she joined the crew of Soyuz TM-12 to conduct experiments on Mir space station):
"I picked up my car to drive home. Driving through the evening traffic, something hit me. An awareness of a changed perspective. Over Waterloo Bridge, the lights along the river reminded me of seeing the lights from space. I felt intoxicated and liberated and awestruck. I think this was because... I had *really* seen it. It was fixed in my mind not as an idea, but a visual and bodily experience; the sense of being down here and up there...."
Other participants stayed silent for up to 5-10 minutes, reflecting on their experience and the emotions they had felt. A great variety of subjective experiences were reported, both cognitive and emotional. Participants reported feelings of awe and humility. Others talked about compassion for the planet and feelings of a strong connection with their home when seeing it from 'space'.
Space Week, held at UCL is full of events exploring ongoing topics of Space research and studies delivered through a mixture of face to face and online events. VROE were the guest of Dr. David (Jeeva) Jeevendrampillai, Director: UCL IAS Centre for Outer Space Studies, who helped organise the event.
The psychologically informed VR program, combines state of the art VR technology, music, meditation and haptic audio to give a fully immersive experience. The experience takes participants on a 25 minute journey from the dark side of the moon towards the Earth and then around our planet several times. The experience recreates well known space imagery such as 'Earth Rising' and Carl Sagan's 'Pale Blue Dot'. The model of Earth was based on NASA’s blue marble dataset and 40,000 pictures of the model were generated using a gaming engine. Gaia’s voice speaks to the travellers and reminds them of their personal connection with the planet, their dependence on the planet and their place in the universe. Research is being carried out to measure both short and long term effects of the VR Experience on shifts in awareness and behaviour.
What is the Overview Effect?
The Overview Effect is a term and concept first coined by space philosopher Frank White in 1987 in his book, The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution. The Overview Effect describes a cognitive shift in awareness reported by astronauts that leads to changes in how we think about our self, our surroundings, our connection to life and others and, finally, how we think about Earth. The term gave form to the psychological and emotional effects brought about by a new experience for humankind, seeing the Earth from orbit or in Space. Many astronauts have given testimony to the profound effects of seeing our planet from a panoptic perspective. If it holds true that this unique experience has the potential to affect schemas or worldviews, then the impact of the Overview Effect goes beyond the personal to the social. It deepens the cognitive, emotional and spiritual connection with our Planet.
Dr Annahita Nezami, founder of VROE
Annahita is a psychologist who works internationally with individuals and organisations. She specialises in the psychology of the Overview Effect, and carried out PhD research that attempted to build on Frank White’s field work. Annahita has a particular interest in trying to translate the Overview Effect via positive human-centred technologies. Annahita has presented at various conferences, both nationally and internationally, and has talked about mental health on BBC Radio 4, the Weekend University, at Central St Martin’s, UCL, and TEDx, and published papers and articles with Springer and other media outlets.
Charlie Perring, co-founder VROE
Charlie has an MBA, an MSc in Psychology and a background in new media and marketing. He has spent several years working in agencies and running his own companies. He has a special interest in using new media for improving psychological well-being and for educational purposes. Charlie is in charge of communications and all the technology side of things at VROE.
Concept and production of VR Overview Experience
This VR program was developed using models of earth based on NASA’s Blue Marble dataset in a gaming engine, which was then used to produce 40,000 images. The images were then edited together with, voice-over, haptic audio, music and other video content to produce the final VR video.