NASA is testing virtual reality smart glasses that could one day help astronauts as they travel to an asteroid or even Mars.

NASA is testing virtual reality smart glasses that could one day help astronauts as they travel to an asteroid or even Mars.

The space agency is working with Osterhout Design Group (ODG), a San Francisco-based company that develops wearables for enterprises and government use. NASA engineers and astronauts are set to test the company's smart glasses, which are equipped with augmented reality and virtual reality technologies.

"The intended purpose and usefulness of glasses like this are unlimited," said Jay Bolden, a NASA spokesman, in an email to Computerworld. "Advanced glasses could aid in navigation, where cockpit displays are broadcast on the goggles in much the same way fighter pilot heads up displays operate today."

Bolden also noted that astronauts on a journey to an asteroid or Mars could use the smart glasses to access chart, map and technical information, instead of having to carry many pounds of technical journals and papers with them.

"For a two-hour flight on a 737 from Cleveland to Dallas, each pilot carries 15 pounds of manuals and that weight isn't really a big deal in the grand scheme," he noted. "However, for a multiple-week mission to an asteroid or the moon, or a multi-year mission to Mars, every pound saved means additional life-critical supplies -- food, water, oxygen, or fuel -- can be shipped in their place."

The smart glasses also could give more information to NASA engineers and scientists working on Earth.

"Real time applications also include the ability for ground support teams to see first hand what astronauts discover and video," Bolden said. "Instead of bringing a 50-pound boulder back for ground analysis, the astronaut can use glasses to scan, measure and catalog where it was found and then chip off a 5-pound sample for ground analysis."

Evaluating smart glasses isn't a new concept for U.S. agencies.

The U.S. Air Force last spring said it was testing Google Glass with pilots, battlefield coordinators and even medics parachuting into battlefield areas.

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NASA tests virtual reality smart glasses for trip to Mars