To mark NASA’s Mars Rover landing, USA TODAY is bringing its latest augmented reality project, “Perseverance: Explore as one,” to more local audiences and is now available in USA TODAY and 13 local news apps. This is the most significant distribution of augmented reality content across the USA TODAY NETWORK to date and part of the mission to bring more innovative and digital content experiences to local audiences.
USA TODAY’s Emerging Tech team set out to bringing audiences additional information on the rover in an interactive format and allows a user to simulate the rover’s descent to Mars’ surface, known as the “seven minutes of terror.” Narrated by Florida Today’s space reporter Emre Kelly, the interactive guides users through the rover’s features and technology that will be used to detect signs of life on Mars.
“We’re excited to leverage the reach of our NETWORK to deliver premium augmented reality content to more people like never before”, said Ray Soto, Director of Emerging Technology. “Our latest interactive story is the perfect mix of technology and storytelling that has the potential to fascinate and inspire.”
Beginning today, “Explore Mars Perseverance Rover” is available in the following USA TODAY NETWORK apps: Florida Today, Treasure Coast News, Naples Daily News, The News-Press (Fort Meyers), Pensacola News Journal, Tallahassee Democrat, Montgomery Advertiser, The Tuscaloosa News, Gadsden Times, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, The Desert Sun (Palm Springs), Austin American-Statesman, and Delmarva Now.
USA TODAY and local news apps users can engage with the content via the Top Stories front. Download the latest versions of the apps on your AR-capable device.
The experience, running roughly three minutes in length, was built in partnership with the Smithsonian Channel.
