In August, investigators and students from the University of Houston and Texas A&M University convened in Houston to discuss IDEAS² Center progress and plan next-step research milestones. The meeting featured updates from student teams and a live demonstration of UH’s Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA) Immersive Design & Validation Space (IDVS).
The extended-reality lab integrates VR, AR, and MR environments with low-fidelity mockups to evaluate space-habitat designs and crew Concepts of Operations (ConOps) through multi-user, mission-specific scenarios. The demonstration showcased SICSA’s capabilities for space operations optimization, highlighting its contributions to advanced space-habitat research.
Student teams also presented new findings, shared test plans, and established clear milestones for future cross-institutional collaboration between UH and Texas A&M.