The project.
WelcomE aboard the IXO
IXO stands for the Interplanetary and Interstellar eXploration Observatory. Jump on it to travel through the cosmos.
SpaceTravelVR is a nonprofit organisation (NPO, Association Loi 1901, registered on the government listing in France) aimed at bridging science with the creative arts via new technologies such as smartphone apps, augmented and virtual reality.
We are a team of scientists and creatives with a strong passion for communicating and sharing science. Our mission is to enthuse the public about space exploration by directly engaging through our projects during public engagement events, or by partnering with other science communication associations, and by distributing the contents of the projects freely.
The adventure started when two of the main members met by chance in 2015 and the collision of their worlds of science and storytelling led to the first project, Solar Storm VR, and the creation of an imaginary spacecraft, IXO, that would travel the cosmos. Since then, many colleagues and friends have joined the adventure, sometimes to brainstorm, some other times to lend a hand during outreach events. While further projects were created, SpaceTravelVR was born out of the desire to group all these projects under one umbrella.
These different projects - Solar Storm VR, SolAR Expedition and SolOVE - have always been created with in mind the possibility to share them with the maximum of people around the world. Hence, while we do organise exhibitions and travel to festivals, these projects also have a life of their own as they can be fully, or partly, be downloaded freely.
We hope you will enjoy them and look forward to providing you with more content in the future!
We are a team of scientists and creatives with a strong passion for communicating and sharing science. Our mission is to enthuse the public about space exploration by directly engaging through our projects during public engagement events, or by partnering with other science communication associations, and by distributing the contents of the projects freely.
The adventure started when two of the main members met by chance in 2015 and the collision of their worlds of science and storytelling led to the first project, Solar Storm VR, and the creation of an imaginary spacecraft, IXO, that would travel the cosmos. Since then, many colleagues and friends have joined the adventure, sometimes to brainstorm, some other times to lend a hand during outreach events. While further projects were created, SpaceTravelVR was born out of the desire to group all these projects under one umbrella.
These different projects - Solar Storm VR, SolAR Expedition and SolOVE - have always been created with in mind the possibility to share them with the maximum of people around the world. Hence, while we do organise exhibitions and travel to festivals, these projects also have a life of their own as they can be fully, or partly, be downloaded freely.
We hope you will enjoy them and look forward to providing you with more content in the future!
- The Team
The people.
Miho Janvier
Miho Janvier leads the projects for Space Travel VR while working as a space physicist at the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, France. Her work focuses on the understanding of when solar flares occur, how solar storms travel in space and how they impact planetary environments in the solar system. She is also involved on the European Space Agency mission to explore the Sun and its close neighbourhood, Solar Orbiter. Her passion for astrophysics and science communication has led her to develop SpaceTravelVR. She was named WIRED UK Innovation fellow in 2016 and is a TED Fellow. 
Cilia Damiani
Cilia Damiani is an astrophysicist working at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen, Germany. She specialises in the physics of the interactions between stars and planets as well as the interior of stars. She is also involved in the European Space Agency mission PLATO for the detection of exoplanets. She loves sharing her passion for science throughout different outreach activities and has participated in several science festivals with SpaceTravelVR. 
Clément Walter
Clément Walter is a PhD student in astrophysics and cosmology at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris, France. He works on the determination and characterization of the foreground emission from the Planck mission data, in the aim to help uncover the primordial B-modes of polarization in the Cosmic Microwave Background. While being involved in several science communication events such as the Nuit Blanche, Clément is also involved in the two SpaceTravelVR projects: SolAR Expedition and SolOVE. |
Tom Saville
Tom graduated from the Arts Institute at Bournemouth, UK, in 2008 with a BA in Film and Animation, and while gaining experience under the wing of Leigh Took at Mattes and Miniatures Pinewood, helped to complete the visual effects for Small Town Folk for director Peter Stanley-Ward and producer Chris Musselwhite. The group of filmmakers became Treehouse Digital, and has served as editor and visual effects designer on many of the projects under the Treehouse banner. Tom’s interest in visual arts and technology came to a head in 2015, with the development of Solar Storm. 
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Florian Regnault
Florian Regnault is a PhD student in space physics at the Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, France . He investigates the propagation of solar storms in the solar system, by way of data analysis and numerical simulations. He enjoys sharing his passion for astrophysics and has participated in several science festivals to present SpaceTravelVR projects. while being involved in the development of the SolOVE v1 version. |
SpECIAL THANKS
SpaceTravelVR thanks the many contributors to the projects:
Solar Storm VR:
SolAR Experience:
Solar Orbiter Virtual Experience:
Throughout the project:
Solar Storm VR:
- Dale Sumner for the music on Solar Storm VR
- Justin Dorey for the English voice over
- Ayana Fuentes for the French voice over
SolAR Experience:
- Jean-Charles Fedini, Main Developer 1
- Pierre Gaboriaud, Main Developer 2
- Frédéric Baudin, for funding liaison
- Eric Buchlin, for funding liaison
- Frédéric Auchère, for providing the Carrington maps
Solar Orbiter Virtual Experience:
- IAS Solar and Stellar team, for science checks
- Isabelle Fratter, Solar Orbiter Project Scientist
Throughout the project:
- Xavier Maître and le SAS for the exhibition support
- Kader Amsif, CNES for funding
