For this historic mission, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory uses Dolby.io Real-time Streaming (formerly Millicast) to remotely produce their press briefings using live real-time video and audio from NASA locations and the Mars Perseverance Rover, delivering broadcast-quality streams via WebRTC to news agencies around the world.
“Perseverance is more than a rover, and more than this amazing collection of men and women that built it and got us here. This mission is about what humans can achieve when they persevere. We made it this far. Now, watch us go.”
John McNamee, MARS 2020 Project Manager, NASA JPL
The world is watching
The recent successful SpaceX missions and NASA’s Mars 2020 program have reinvigorated the public’s interest in the exploration of space. To say the least, the world is watching.
NASA’s unprecedented schedule of news briefings keeps the world up-to-date on the progress of the mission. However, due to the ongoing pandemic, the focus shifted from in-person to virtual events.
The real challenge was to find a way for humanity to share in the experience, and create interaction between NASA, the engineers, and the public.
Making history
NASA found new ways to engage with millions of curious minds around the world during live broadcasts, creating interactivity between hosts and participants alike.
As the spacecraft plummeted, parachuted, and rocketed toward the surface of Mars, audience members were able to follow major milestones during the final minutes of the Rover’s entry, descent, and landing on the Red Planet.
From the moment of parachute inflation, footage from high-definition cameras covers the entirety of the descent process, showing some of the rover’s intense ride to Mars’ Jezero Crater.
The sky is the limit
On April 19, the Ingenuity Mars helicopter became the first spacecraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another world. This historic flight on Mars has implications for how we will explore other worlds.
The live coverage brought together experts from the Ingenuity Mars team and upcoming Dragonfly mission to learn about the future of extraterrestrial flight.
When it comes to the future of space exploration, real-time streaming, and interactivity: THE SKY IS THE LIMIT. Then again, maybe it isn’t.
“Customer service is outstanding. Their team is easy to reach and extremely responsive. With Dolby.io Real-time Streaming, we are fully confident we have now found the right partner to stream our live auctions and scale our business further.”
Olivier Dupuis, CTO, Interencheres
What does Dolby.io Real-time Streaming enable NASA to achieve?
- Ultra-low latency: 200-500 ms globally at-scale
- Broadcast quality: HD & 4K Resolution
- WebRTC standards: IETF & W3C compliant & browser compatible
- Low cost: Simple bandwidth pricing
