【1986 Archives】

Have you ever wondered what it would986 Archiveslike to set foot on the red planet? Of course you have.

Today's your lucky day: A new 360° video brings viewers along for some high-flying Martian action, giving a bumpy glimpse of what it would look like if one were to land on Mars.

In the video, an astronaut aboard the ship explains the landing as it's happening, and you get some simulated views of the planet's mountains and valleys on the way down to the surface.

If NASA and SpaceX founder Elon Musk have their way, people could be landing on Mars in a matter of decades: Musk has plans to get people to Mars with SpaceX technology, and NASA's long-term goal has been centered around getting astronauts down to the Martian surface in order to investigate the planet's geology firsthand.

For now, however, scientists have a number of unmanned missions on the red planet, gathering data about Mars' atmosphere, dirt and rocks, and beaming the findings back to Earth. NASA's Curiosity rover has even taken panorama images of its view from inside Mars' Gale Crater, its home since landing in 2012.

The virtual reality-style clip is part of National Geographic's Experience Mars installation currently showing in New York City. The futuristic installation aims to give visitors a taste of interplanetary living with a treadmill that mimics Martian gravity, or one can use a VR simulator to watch the 360° video. Experience Mars, which is free to the public, will be open October 26 through October 29 and is part of a promotion for National Geographic Channel's scripted "Mars" series, set to premiere on November 14 at 9 p.m. ET.

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