Dubai mountains like you have never seen before: Hatta looks stunning as spaceport to Mars

For space enthusiasts, the reddish mountains of Dubai’s Hatta give off a distinctive Mars vibe. Now, the enclave surrounded by the glorious Hajar mountains is serving as the launchpad for missions to the Red Planet in the Everdome, a hyper-realistic metaverse.

“We chose the region of Hatta because we felt it had many of the same features and relatable characteristics of our mission destination, Mars. (It) sort of sets the tone of things to come. After analysing many different locations and making a shortlist, we travelled as a team to Hatta, where we spent some time and made our final decision,” Rob Gryn, CEO and founder of Everdome, told Khaleej Times.

Passenger avatars can arrive at the spaceport through driverless vehicles or via a hyperloop train system. Here is glimpse of what you will see at the port:

Inside the Hatta spaceport

The Everdome storyline is set in a near-future human existence — about 200 years from now. “Our concept team got to work and eventually ended up placing 90 per cent of the location's activities and facility below the water, as it gave us an opportunity to minimise the changes… to the breathtaking view that is the Hatta region.”

Gryn said Dubai “seemed the perfect location to begin a new pursuit rooted in innovation and cutting-edge tech”.

“Hatta, Dubai, was a natural choice for Everdome's Phase 1, considering that it's a global landmark for tourism, innovation, and space exploration,” he added.

The company’s resident space architecture consultant, Leszek Orzechowski, director of LunAres Research Station lab in Poland, said the Hatta mountains “look amazing” in the metaverse.

Set to launch in three phases throughout 2022, Everdome will take users on a journey from Earth to Mars. Phase 1 includes the pre-launch phase set in Hatta. “Users can walk around in first-person to explore the spaceport, the beautiful Hajar mountains and the various galleries,” said Gryn.

One of the coolest features at the spaceport is the moon experience. Check it out:

When is lift-off?

According to Gryn, the metaverse experience has already begun for “many of our most active investors”, with access granted to the spaceport in its alpha version. “We will slowly be granting access to our community throughout the rest of 2022, opening to the public in the latter part of Q4.”

Once access is granted, the public will be able to enter the metaverse through their crypto wallet.

“Phases 2 (Q4 2022) and 3 (Q1 2023) continue the Everdome journey, from mission launch and life aboard the vessel, through to landing and settling on Mars,” said Grynn.

The science behind the Mars mission

Built on Unreal Engine 5, Everdome said it will deliver a “slick real-world-extended experience”.

"From a scientist's perspective, I'm eager to see how people will act in the metaverse, how behaviour and social interactions change as the human community merges reality with virtual existence," said resident space architecture consultant Orzechowski, who is also the founder of Space is More, a project focused on space architecture and engineering.

"Seeing how people interact within Everdome may even contribute towards our approach to future Mars colonies. Data from the metaverse can give us an understanding of how humanity could adapt to living in space, which could prove invaluable to the future of space exploration."

Gryn said integrating “an expert such as Leszek into our team will help the team deliver above and beyond anything that's existed before in the metaverse worlds”.

UAE residents want to jet off to Mars

Interest from the UAE has been “exceptional”, according to Gryn.

“At this point, we have not opened the metaverse to the public. However, the business itself boasts more than 100,000 individual investors, new brand partners coming in weekly, and a media reach across the globe.”

sahim@khaleejtimes.com

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