---
title: "Hologram Doctors Visit Space Station For The First Time Ever"
description: "Holo-delic Things are getting more and more like “Star Trek” every day, it seems. As NASA noted in a press release, a hologram medical team were “holoported” aboard the International Space Station, making them the first people to ever have their 3D images projected into space using technology from Microsoft and the AEXA Aerospace startup. […]"
date: "2022-04-16"
modified: "2022-04-16"
authors:
  - name: "Noor Al-Sibai"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/hologram-doctors-space-station"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "holograms"
  - "international space station"
  - "NASA"
  - "the digest"
---

# Hologram Doctors Visit Space Station For The First Time Ever

![Things are getting more and more like "Star Trek" every day as NASA transports doctor holograms into space.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/hologram-doctors-space-station.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: ESA\</em\>*

## Holo-delic

Things are getting more and more like "Star Trek" every day.

As [NASA noted in a press release](<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/innovative-3d-telemedicine-to-help-keep-astronauts-healthy>), a hologram medical team were "holoported" aboard the International Space Station late last year, making them the first people to have their 3D likenesses projected into outer space using technology from Microsoft and a startup called AEXA Aerospace.

"This is completely new manner of human communication across vast distances,” NASA flight surgeon Dr. Josef Schmid, one of the doctors on the team who were projected into the ISS, said in the statement . “Furthermore, it is a brand-new way of human exploration, where our human entity is able to travel off the planet."

## Next Generation

Sci-fi fans are likely familiar with the concept of holographic doctors given that "Star Trek: Voyager" starred [featured a beloved hologram doctor](<https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Doctor>) character most often referred to simply as "Doc." And don't forget the [iconic take on the concept](<https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Hologram>) in the "Star Wars" franchise.

This is the first time in real life, however, that people aboard a spacecraft have interacted with holograms, though Microsoft, as NASA notes, has been dabbling in hologram technology since 2016.

Using Microsoft's Hololens Kinect camera and a computer custom outfitted with AEXA software, Dr. Schmid and others on his Earthbound team were able to chat with European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet while he was aboard the ISS.

Along with hologram tech, AEXA is also interested in developing augmented reality and virtual reality software, which could mean that "holodecks" like those aboard many of the famed "Star Trek" starships may soon become a reality as well.

**READ MORE:** [Innovative 3D Telemedicine to Help Keep Astronauts Healthy](<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/innovative-3d-telemedicine-to-help-keep-astronauts-healthy>) \[NASA\]

**More on holograms:** *[Scientists Create Holograms You Can Touch](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-holograms-touch>)*

## Author
At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/noorfromfuturism.bsky.social>)