{"id":86249,"date":"2025-05-09T02:59:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T02:59:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/86249\/"},"modified":"2025-05-09T02:59:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T02:59:11","slug":"l-a-s-lunar-light-vr-experience-takes-you-to-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/86249\/","title":{"rendered":"L.A.’s ‘Lunar Light’ VR experience takes you to the moon"},"content":{"rendered":"

p]:text-cms-story-body-color-text clearfix”> <\/p>\n

I\u2019m at peace with the idea that I won\u2019t be visiting space in my lifetime. The cost of space tourism is out of reach for me and the vast majority of Americans. Yet on a recent Saturday afternoon, thanks to a mix of virtual reality and old-fashioned theatrics, I am on the moon.<\/p>\n

Looking to my left, I see strange, abstractly blue lights emerging from the gray, rocky moon landscape. Ducking down, I can spot the stars and piece together various constellations. Ahead, I watch the vehicle I\u2019m standing in \u2014 technically a shipping container \u2014 move through craters on a monorail.<\/p>\n

This is \u201cThe Lunar Light: Discovery<\/a>,\u201d part VR experience, part mini-escape room, part science experiment and part one-act play. Currently running through mid-May in Santa Monica, \u201cLunar Light\u201d uses a small cast of actors to bring the dream of visiting the moon alive. The VR helps, of course, as our goggles hide any facets of the shipping container from view, but it\u2019s the performances that set the tone and sell the illusion. Throughout, we\u2019ll be tasked with minor actions \u2014 mining moon rocks in VR, for instance \u2014 and the actors will lead, guide and offer moon tidbits, all with a bit of improv-inspired campiness.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Part of \u201cLunar Light: Discovery\u201d is in virtual reality, when guests can look out digital windows to see views of space. Above, a screenshot from inside the headset.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Lunar Light: Discovery)<\/p>\n

\u201cLunar Light\u201d is set in the year 2055, when humanity has established a small community on the moon. A mysterious blue-hued mineral has landed on Earth\u2019s natural satellite, and it\u2019s causing strange reactions \u2014 people\u2019s emotions are comically off-centered, and power and lighting seem unpredictable. Even a tiny robot \u2014 DG-33, sort of cutesy spin on a trash compactor \u2014 has developed some quirks, namely a sassy Southern accent.<\/p>\n

And yet \u201cLunar Light\u201d has an underlying mission. The project, which mixes in actual science, is spearheaded by Danielle Roosa, an actor-writer turned space advocate. Roosa\u2019s interest in the cosmos is in her blood, as she is the granddaughter of late Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa. And one of her early gigs was interning at NASA\u2019s Washington, D.C., offices, where she worked in the news and multimedia room.<\/p>\n

\""I <\/p>\n

\u201cI do think that space unites people,\u201d says Danielle Roosa, who led the creation of \u201cThe Lunar Light: Discovery.\u201d <\/p>\n

(Catherine Dzilenski \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized a lot of my [college] classmates had no idea what NASA was even doing,\u201d says Roosa, 32. \u201cOne person said, \u2018I thought NASA was out of business.\u2019 The seed was really planted there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or awakened, rather.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always this conversation, \u2018Why space exploration?\u2019\u201d Roosa says. \u201cI think that understanding our place in the solar system helps us protect our home better. It helps us understand what could happen, maybe different ways of living life, going out there and finding different habits. All of those are for a better Earth. Even when my grandfather went to the moon, people were like, \u2018Why are we doing this?\u2019 I wasn\u2019t there, but people also say that was the last time America was truly united. \u2018Yes, we have to do this. We\u2019re going to land on the moon.\u2019 I do think that space unites people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLunar Light\u201d is the first major project from Roosa\u2019s firm Back to Space. She has grand ambitions \u2014 opening a large-scale immersive facility to house \u201cLunar Light\u201d and other programs, and taking the experience on the road to various museums. She honed her business acumen after a chance meeting on an airplane with Jim Keyes, a former 7-Eleven and Blockbuster executive, who became a mentor and investor.<\/p>\n

The Santa Monica installation is \u201cLunar Light\u2019s\u201d second pop-up, having had a run in Dallas in 2024. She considers it a proof of concept, the first step in her ultimate goal of building a \u201c10,000-square-foot experience that\u2019s like the Disneyland of space exploration.\u201d Investors were interested but encouraged her to, at least at first, downsize her vision.<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, fine,\u201d Roosa says, recalling those conversations. \u201cSo we built it out of shipping containers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LOS \"LOS \"A <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lunar Light: Discovery\u201d builds to a mini escape room-like puzzle. <\/p>\n

(Catherine Dzilenski \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

The Santa Monica experience, a little longer than an hour, is only in VR for a fraction of that period. After a short jaunt on the moon and a small gamelike activity in which we mine for virtual minerals, we find ourselves in a lab where we\u2019ll play with various crystals. There\u2019s a Tesla coil, and we will test out various electrical energy reactions. The mood, however, isn\u2019t that of a classroom, as the actor manning the lab plays the scene for laughs \u2014 all that electrical energy is wreaking havoc on her mind.<\/p>\n

Roosa, whose father was a military pilot, moved often throughout her childhood, and she says she escaped via improv shows like \u201cWhose Line Is It Anyway?\u201d That informed \u201cLunar Light\u2018s\u201d lighthearted vibe, and after experiencing various actor-driven immersive theater shows<\/a>, such as one inspired by Netflix series \u201cBridgerton,\u201d she knew she didn\u2019t want her space exploration experience to rely solely on technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think human-to-human contact is the only thing that\u2019s going to save us in the world,\u201d Roosa says. \u201cObviously I like VR, but I think the human connection is what makes the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

“The Lunar Light Discovery”<\/p>\n

\u201cLunar Light\u201d attempts to use VR to facilitate connection. While in the headsets, we can see our fellow participants. At times, we\u2018re asked to high-five them.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s say there\u2019s three different groups,\u201d Roosa says, describing how strangers might be brought together for the experience. \u201cThey\u2019re all timid. \u2018I don\u2019t know you.\u2019 You put the VR headset on, and all of a sudden they\u2019re high-fiving each other and jumping up and down. It\u2019s almost like an equalizer. By the end of it, they feel like one big group.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Guests <\/p>\n

The puzzles in \u201cThe Lunar Light: Discovery\u201d are designed with collaboration in mind.<\/p>\n

(Catherine Dzilenski \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

Ultimately, \u201cLunar Light\u201d builds to a mini escape room puzzle. But don\u2019t expect anything too difficult. Those lightly familiar with escape room challenges should be able to complete it without too much of a fuss. Roosa didn\u2019t want participants to get stuck, as her ultimate goal is creating excitement around space by demystifying it.<\/p>\n

Roosa says that many space experiences are \u201cvery serious.\u201d She then briefly adopts an exaggerated, deeply male voice. \u201cIt is, \u2018We are men of science.\u2019 And I\u2019ve always noticed, there is room for some fun. There is room for some comedy. I want people to feel a part of the space conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

Danielle Roosa, second from left, back row, and Georgia Warner, Adam Kitchen, Derek Stusynski and Landon Gorton with guests: Soren McVay, Max Cazier, Leanna Turner, Hannah May Howard, James Cerini, and Eteka Huckaby during \u201cThe Lunar Light: Discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Catherine Dzilenski \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"p]:text-cms-story-body-color-text clearfix”> I\u2019m at peace with the idea that I won\u2019t be visiting space in my lifetime. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3162],"tags":[30043,3117,41456,13200,41454,1497,41458,874,457,19058,41457,413,7305,53,16,15,3243,3244,41455],"class_list":{"0":"post-86249","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-virtual-reality","8":"tag-actor","9":"tag-conversation","10":"tag-danielle-roosa","11":"tag-experience","12":"tag-lunar-light","13":"tag-moon","14":"tag-multimedia-room","15":"tag-nasa","16":"tag-people","17":"tag-santa-monica","18":"tag-shipping-container","19":"tag-space","20":"tag-space-exploration","21":"tag-technology","22":"tag-uk","23":"tag-united-kingdom","24":"tag-virtual-reality","25":"tag-vr","26":"tag-vr-experience"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114475641404505744","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}