Download
for Windows95 & WindowsNT:
For Netscape Navigator 3.0.1/4.0 and Internet Explorer 3.0

Download
for Windows 3.1:
For Netscape Navigator 3.0.1/4.0

Download
for IRIX:
For Netscape Navigator 3.0.1S

Help

Note:JPL cannot provide VRML Browser support

Download a VRML 2.0 Browser
to experience Mars in 3D!

Need a VRML Browser to see the Mars landscape in 3D? Simply click on one of the links on the left and you're ready to go!

Macintosh Users: Currently there is no VRML 2.0 browser available for the Macintosh. This is expected to change soon.

A VRML Primer
Courtesy of vrml.sgi.com

VRML, (pronounced vur'mel and short for Virtual Reality Modeling Language) is an industry standard that enables the development of networked, interactive 3D content and applications that can be deployed universally regardless of operating system, microprocessor brand or rendering technology. VRML 2.0 is based on the Silicon Graphics Moving Worlds proposal, and was ratified by the VRML community standards body in August 1996. Today, VRML 2.0 is broadly supported by Web developers, small companies and big companies alike, including Netscape, Microsoft, Sony, Apple and IBM.

We are hard wired for 3D!
We naturally organize information spatially. Think of receiving a phone call at your desk. During the call you write down the person's phone number on a Post-It note and stick it off to your left. A week later you go to call that person back and you think "where did I put that phone number." In your mind, you picture the Post-It and look over to see that it is exactly where you left it. That is the spatial map that we all have in our heads to keep track of this database called the world. VRML is the key that will unlock the power of this natural ability to organize the current chaos of the Web.

Put some order on the current 2D chaos
The current metaphor for the Web is starting to break. Most people have a bookmark list that runs off the bottom of the page. Even if we were clever enough to categorize the list, now it runs off the side of our screens... Also, take a peek at your monitor, most of us have multiple application windows open and are constantly trying to shuffle around to get to what you want. These problems are inherent to organizing information on a 2D surface. There are only so many pixels to go around. With 3D if you need more space you simply move forward, or you turn your head. In 3D you get infinite screen real estate for a finite number of pixels on the monitor. Cool deal, eh?

Want to know more?
To learn more about VRML there are plenty of resources on the World Wide Web. One such resource is vrml.sgi.com.