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NASA’s Eyes

Learn more about NASA's Eyes software, which turns your browser into a spacecraft to explore hundreds of planets, moons, and over 170 real NASA missions and their data in stunning, interactive 3D. Visit frequently to get all the latest news, updates, tutorials and features. 

NASA’s Eyes software: August release notes

On August 4, 2026, a major update to Eyes on the Solar System was released that included full Mars terrain. Now you can land on the surface of Mars and explore the entire planet if you are on a desktop or laptop computer. To use the feature anywhere in the application, just hit “k” on your keyboard and you will see a message that you are entering free-fly mode. You can use the mouse to click and drag the view, and when you are positioned in the direction you wish to travel, use the W, A, S, and D keys to move around. If you hold the Shift key while pressing those keys, you will go much faster. You can also use the Q/E and Z/C keys to move up and down, and to roll the camera view, respectively.

An image above the terrain of Mars far above the Perseverance rover in 3D, with text that explains the the user has entered free-fly mode by pressing "k" on their keyboard.
A screen capture from inside Eyes on the Solar System showing the camera flying free in space above the Perseverance rover.

An image of the Perseverance rover sitting on Mars in its current position with full 3D terrain simulated in Eyes on the Solar System.
A view of Perseverance on the surface of Mars as seen using the new free-fly mode in Eyes on the Solar System.

The new free-fly mode works anywhere in the Solar System at any time. You can fly throughout space and visit every single object that exists in the application. To exit free-fly mode, just press the “k” button again.

In addition to the free-fly mode, we also added the Roman Space Telescope in advance of the launch, and then updated the trajectory on launch day, August 30, 2026. We also added the SOLAR-1 spacecraft, as well as Lagrange points L1 and L2, which you can now visit.

An image from the Eyes on the Solar System application showing the new SOLAR-1 spacecraft that was added to the app in August of 2026.
The SOLAR-1 observatory is now at L1, or Lagrange point one, which you can also now visit in Eyes on the Solar System.

In addition to Eyes on the Solar System, the Eyes team also released a major new dataset in Eyes on the Earth. On August 31, 2026, the NISAR mission’s radar reflectivity map was added to the application. This is the single highest resolution dataset that has ever been added to Eyes on the Earth, showing a rolling 12-day radar reflectivity map at 15 meters per pixel. At that resolution, you can see individual cargo ships in the major ports of the world.

An image from NASA's Eyes on the Earth application showing the NISAR spacecraft's radar refelctivity map of the entire globe.
NISAR Radar Reflectivity as shown in NASA’s Eyes on the Earth application. It features complete global coverage every twelve days, and displays the latest data on top.

An image from above the Los Angeles metro area as seen in Eyes on the Earth with NISAR radar reflectivity data that is in bright colors of green, yellow, red and orange.
Radar Reflectivity from the NISAR mission as seen in southern California. Note the individual cargo ships approaching the port of Long Beach.

And finally, here’s a video tutorial that shows you how to use all the new features, step by step.