First Woman is the first issue of a series of AR graphic novels from NASA.
First ever AR graphic novel
New York Comic Con is one of the most anticipated events among comic lovers. Every year, the event brings loads of exciting items that keep the chatter going for months to come. However, the 2021 New Year Comic Con witnessed something that could potentially transform the face of entertainment. NASA debuted First Woman: NASA’s Promise for Humanity, a graphic novel that uses augmented reality to enhance the reading experience. This is something the world has seen never before, and possibly, it could usher in a new era of AR entertainment.
Inspire women of colour
First Woman is essentially an AR-powered graphic novel featuring a fictional character called Callie Rodriguez. The story revolves around her dreams of becoming an astronaut and the first woman of colour to reach the moon. Created in collaboration with the National Institute of Aerospace, First Woman is written by Steven List and Brad Gann. Katilin Reid and Brent Donoho illustrated the beautiful piece. NASA states that the novel is created to inspire those interested in a career in aerospace, especially women of colour.
The plot
The plot follows Callie’s life and journey, highlighting her incredible career as an astronaut. The story starts from her childhood days when she used to make spacesuits out of cardboard boxes and dream about setting foot on the moon one day. The pinnacle of her journey, as shown in the novel, is when she successfully builds her robot RT (named after her father).
AR and XR experiences
The inspiring journey of Callie Rodriguez is not limited to the pages of the book. Rather, NASA makes it a unique experience with the power of augmented reality so that the readers can actually experience and live her spectacular journey along with her. The novel will reportedly include several XR and QR codes through which one can unlock various interactive experiences. To access these experiences, however, you will have to install the First Woman app. Once you unlock the AR and XR experiences, you will be able to walk along with Callie through the scenes from the novel as well as experience real-life technologies used by NASA in their space expeditions. You will also be able to interact with Callie’s trusted sidekick RT the robot. What’s more, you will also have hands-on access to NASA’s technologies that help astronauts to live sustainably on the moon and even face some of the challenges as the first woman out in space.
Artemis Program
Derek Wang, Director of NASA’s Space Technology Mission reported that the graphic novel is part of NASA’s Artemis Program, an initiative to train the next generation of astronauts to get to the lunar surface and teach them sustainable technology. Wang also added that the decision to use AR was instrumental for this program, considering the growing popularity of the medium as well its potential to give the readers a one-on-one exposure to this unique experience.
Available to download
First Woman: NASA’s Promise for Humanity can be downloaded from NASA’s website. The audio experience is available on Soundcloud. The First Woman app is available on both iOS and Android.
