Sometimes I stumble over the experience of pausing and saying “Amazing.” As a space fan, the Cosmic XR is one of those rare gems.
Available in Quest 3 and Quest 3S, this stunning mixed reality app transforms your play space into a space classroom, blending complex reality visuals and handmade interactions, making it both adoration and education.
Touching the universe
The Cosmic XR is completely leaning towards handing over. Reaching out to move and rotate the planets, zoom in to see the details of the distant galaxy, roaming the stunning holographic recreation depicting the wonders of stars, feeling natural as you manipulate them with your own hands, even saying, dare, even divine.
COSMIC XR gameplay footage captured by gamebixby
There’s something magical about pointing to a planet and watching it spinning towards it, or pulling the entire milky road onto a desk to explore in detail.
Space scenes and sounds
CosmicXR graphics present a glamorous holographic model that looks great in Quest 3 in both Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality, and a charming holographic model that floats in your room.
Black holes in the heart of our galaxy
The app does an incredible job of filling complex reality play spaces, allowing you to walk between the seas of galaxies and interact with detailed representations of planets in the solar system, either on the same size or on relative scale.
Some scenes like Cosmic Web remain in VR mode even when MR is selected, and when you visit Galactic Center it looks like half of VR. A very large model size reduces the level of detail, but this is not noticeable unless you expand enough to what is available in the play space.
The audio on the Cosmic XR consists of some surrounding backtracks that seem to be suitable for the environment being investigated, but what I lack here is the narration. There are several parts of the app that contain educational info, and those who read me in the style of Carl Sagan and Neilde Grass Tyson would have put this on top.
Pale blue dots by Carl Sagan
After experiencing CosmicXR, I was able to imagine seeing the full recreation of something like Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot in mixed reality.
Navigate the universe
When it comes to model selection and interaction, BRDY Studios chose a minimalist approach and offered a compact, hidden, point menu system.
You reach out to the scene, grab and spin on planets and galaxies, then pinch and drag to zoom in or re-escape, drag through the air and move across the room. Pointing to some object tags provides detailed information, feels like navigation, like interaction, and like exploration and education.
Bonus content available on cosmicxr
The interface also allows for a blend of VR and MR spaces, as well as the effect of using a digital crown on headsets such as the Apple Vision Pro.
The bonus content offers models for Space Shuttle Discovery, Curiosity Mars Rover and International Space Station (ISS). These models are unlocked when you evaluate your app in the store, giving you an interesting twist on receiving additional content in the VR/MR app.
Textbook concepts come to life
Apps like this and several other apps I have recently looked at the possibility that VR and mixed reality education are real possibilities for future generations. Being able to explore the space of apps like this, and learning about other available experience elements such as Astra and Tablecraft, one of my favourites from last year’s questionable, can make a huge difference in memory maintenance and educate and entertain new ways that you think have become a better student.
Meta for Education brings quest to schools and universities
Currently, Meta is out of beta, offering schools and universities an end-to-end solution for adopting VR and Mixed Reality via Quest Headsets.
In a recent update, BRDY also added 11 new languages. This allows more people around the world to explore the app and learn about the space in their native language. After all, space belongs to everyone.
The update also brings a more detailed Milky Way model for viewing by Virtual Space Explorer, with detailed spiral arms and newly labelled areas that point to the wonders of certain celestial bodies.
Being able to spatially explore these structures, as well as view them on flat pages and screens, makes it easier to understand the vastness and organization of the galaxy. One such wonder that caught my attention is the M16 Eagle Nebula, widely known for including the iconic pillars of creation. I saw this beauty floating in front of me, and on the scale of the room, mixed reality was breathtaking. Instead of passively praised it on pages and screens, I was able to explore it somewhat interactively, shift my perspective and allow me to really appreciate what I was seeing.
Final thoughts
With the first release, Cosmic XR already gives us a glimpse into what the future of space education is. Combining solid hand tracking, global accessibility, and space-based content ranging from milkyways to creative pillars, filling your room will allow you to learn more about the space surrounding small, pale blue dots that are more interactive and memorable than ever before.
The app is already great, but there is still a chance of growing. Exploring and learning through narration, guided lessons, and expanded catalogs of heavenly objects makes CosmicXR an even more powerful learning platform and easier to experience. Even in its current state, the app already offers another great example of how VR and mixed reality move beyond entertainment and have real educational value.
For the owner of Quest 3, whether you’re a space enthusiast or simply interested in mixed reality technology that can be done, Cosmic XR is worth your time. A copy of this app can be obtained from the Meta Horizon store. Let us know what you think about the possibilities of mixed and virtual reality in the education of comments.
