National Geographic Celebrates the Epic Story of Our Planet in Groundbreaking Series ONE STRANGE ROCK

Ahead of National Geographic's world premiere, red carpet screening of One Strange Rock, the network today debuted THE ONE Strange Rock: Space Projection Helmet, a first-of-its-kind immersive viewing experience, featuring footage from the series.

From executive producers Darren Aronofsky and Jane Root, One Strange Rock tells the extraordinary story of Earth, told from the only people who have ever left it: astronauts. Inspired by the innovative storytelling in One Strange Rock, National Geographic created the Space Projection Helmet to bring this unique astronaut vantage-point even closer to those on Earth. The limited-edition gear was exhibited today at an intimate event at the Whitby Hotel Theater in New York City and will go on tour of schools and planetariums in select cities this Spring. The Space Projection Helmets will also be available at tonight's premiere event at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in New York City.

Housed in a replica space helmet, the projection technology creates an immersive viewing experience through a unique combination of laser projection, custom fish-eye optics and in-built audio. Unlike in-market VR headsets, the helmet offers an exceptionally wide field of view and is designed so the user can freely move their head inside of the dome to look around the entire field of vision, just as an astronaut would within their helmet in space.

"One Strange Rock is an unprecedented television experience; we were inspired by the innovative storytelling, mesmerizing footage and the unique accounts of astronauts to create a specialized viewing mechanism that would elevate and emulate their first-hand experience," says Jill Cress, chief marketing and brand officer, National Geographic Partners. "The OSR Space Projection Helmet furthers National Geographic's commitment to use technology to make Science fun, entertaining, and accessible to new audiences."

"One Strange Rock tells the story of earth from the unique perspective of astronauts who have seen it from outer space, and we wanted to replicate that view and experience right here on earth," said Nir Refuah, executive technology creative director, McCann NY. "Using internal projection, a full visor field of view and free head movement, the Space Projection Helmet enables a space experience that no VR headset could deliver."

After today's events, the Space Projection Helmet will travel to schools and planetariums in select cities this Spring, including the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, OH and Liberty State Science Center in Jersey City, NJ, so that new audiences will be able to experience the mesmerizing, first-hand footage from One Strange Rock.

Hosted by Will Smith, One Strange Rock is a mind-bending, full-sensory journey that explores the fragility and wonder of our planet. It's the extraordinary story of why life as we know it exists on Earth, brought into perspective by the only people to have left it behind: astronauts. This 10-part series, which was filmed across 45 countries, on six continents and from outer space, reveals the twists of fate that have allowed life to emerge, survive and thrive on Earth. One Strange Rock premieres on National Geographic on March 26 at 10/9c.

One Strange Rock is executive produced by Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel from Protozoa Pictures and Jane Root and Arif Nurmohamed from Nutopia and features astronauts Nicole Stott, Jeff Hoffman, Leland Melvin, Mike Massimino, Peggy Whitson, Jerry Linenger, Chris Hadfield and Mae Jemison.

About National Geographic Partners LLC

National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between National Geographic and 21st Century Fox, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an UNRIVALED portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic's media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children's media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 129 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers ... and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

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