• 

  AI-generated reference image used to guide the visual style and overall direction of the game.

• 

  Image showing the assembly process of the ISS during development.

🧑‍🚀Astronaut Training: ISS Operations – VR Game 🚀

Inspiration 💡

We were inspired by the dream of combining realistic astronaut training with creativity, curiosity, and exploration in virtual reality. Using the International Space Station as our setting allowed us to connect science, imagination, and emotion in a place that already represents human collaboration and discovery.

What it does 🎮☄️

The experience invites users to explore the ISS in zero gravity, interact with laboratories, and freely move inside a fully interactive space station. Players can exit through the Cupola to discover outer space, surrounded by the ISS exterior, planets, stars, and breathtaking cosmic scenery.

Inside the station, users can collect three seeds and place them into an incubator to activate an indicator switch, encouraging hands-on interaction and experimentation. A control screen allows users to press buttons that trigger visual events, such as viewing the 3I/ATLAS comet or shifting the perspective toward Earth.

A special surprise awaits those who step outside through the Cupola—Santa Claus appears floating in space, turning exploration into a magical and joyful moment filled with wonder.

How we built it 🛠️

We built the project using virtual reality tools and custom 3D environments, focusing on interaction, immersion on Meta Quest devices, developed with Unreal Engine and Blender.

We began by assembling the International Space Station using basic and freely available objects, gradually shaping the internal and external structure. After that, we focused on creating the space environment, adding planets, stars, and ambient elements to enhance realism and immersion. Blender played a key role in our workflow, allowing us to model and export objects directly into Unreal Engine.

On the programming side, we implemented interactive systems that allow users to navigate and interact naturally in VR. The controllers support grabbing and manipulating objects using the rear trigger buttons, enabling interaction with items inside the space station. The joysticks are used for movement and exploration: the left joystick controls forward movement, while the right joystick handles horizontal view rotation.

Challenges we ran into ⚠️

Achieving smooth zero-gravity movement while maintaining a fully interactive ISS was challenging. This was also our first time using Blender and Unreal Engine, so we began as complete beginners. Every obstacle became a learning opportunity, and despite the difficulty, we truly enjoyed the process.

Accomplishments that we're proud of 🏆

We successfully created an interactive ISS experience that combines realistic training elements with creative space exploration. We are especially proud of integrating a Christmas theme into space, adding decorations and a surprise Santa encounter. This allowed us to creatively blend passion, art, and technology, using Christmas as a joyful and unexpected element in the experience.

What we learned 📘

This was our very first VR project. We learned how to design immersive VR interactions, optimize environments for virtual reality, and balance realism with imagination. We also learned a lot about programming in Unreal Engine, while realizing how much more there is to master, especially in textures, movement, and project organization.

Everything was learned through hands-on practice, which made the entire process challenging but extremely rewarding. The enthusiasm that drove this project filled us with ideas for future updates and motivated us to continue developing interactive laboratories and VR applications across different environments—on Earth and in space.

What's next for Astronaut Training: ISS Operations 🚀

Our long-term vision is to evolve this experience into a fully realistic astronaut training simulation. We plan to introduce more structured training missions, authentic astronaut tasks, and highly detailed laboratories equipped with real medical and technical equipment. Seasonal experiences, such as the Christmas theme and the appearance of Santa, will remain as optional layers to keep the project playful, surprising, and engaging.

Beyond technical improvements, we are excited to give this project greater visibility and bring more people into the world of immersive technology.

Our goal is to inspire others to try, use, and develop in virtual reality by showing how education and entertainment can come together to create powerful learning tools. We believe VR has enormous potential across many training fields, and this project is just the beginning of a journey that combines creativity, passion, and technology—here on Earth and beyond.

Built With

• blender
• unreal-engine