NASA and Osterhout Design Group have partnered to explore using smart glasses on land and in space.

This summer's Space Camp itinerary: flight simulators, zero-gravity machine, and assisted-reality smart glasses?

NASA and Osterhout Design Group (ODG) today announced a partnership that will explore astronauts' use of smart glasses for terrestrial and space-based activities.

After testing virtual and augmented reality in flight, the organizations aim to deploy ODG's technology on NASA space missions.

The most advanced, robust, and mobile AR device available today, ODG's Smart Glasses (R-6 model pictured) project 3G graphics onto a tablet, allowing for a high-tech, hands-free experienceperfect for cosmonauts floating through the solar system.

"As electronic directions and instructions replace paper checklists and longer duration missions are considered, there is a need for tools that can meet evolving demands," NASA engineering director Lauri Hansen said in a statement. "ODG's technology provides an opportunity to increase space mission efficiencies and we are pleased to explore its potential in human spaceflight while also advancing its use here on Earth."

Using position sensors, the glasses gain full awareness of the situation, able to know where the user is location, where they're looking, and how they're moving.

Folks in the medical, energy, and utilities fields already use ODG's software, which NASA will implement to increase astronauts' accuracy and efficiency during in-flight activities.

"ODG's Smart Glasses are revolutionizing the way we explore information and interact with our environments and each other," CEO Ralph Osterhout said. "ODG and NASA share an unwavering commitment to advance technology and today's announcement is a vote of confidence in the power, promise, and possibility of headworn augmented reality technology."

When not testing next-gen smart glasses, NASA has been busy sending balloons into space and firing up the biggest rocket ever built.

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NASA Eyes Smart Glasses for Astronauts