They are setting up a NASA event at Canal and Varick. Do you have any more information on this event? —M.

That’s the plot of land, bordered by Canal, Varick, Sixth, and Grand, that’s owned by Trinity Real Estate; it has previously been the site of pop-up events for Nike and the NBA. The one that a crew is preparing for now doesn’t actually have anything to do with NASA. Here’s a description from Fox’s page on LinkedIn (21st Century Fox is the primary owner of National Geographic’s media outlets, including the Nat Geo TV channel):

In advance of event series, MARS, Nat Geo is bringing an immersive activation to the streets of NYC (corner of Canal and Varick). “Experience Mars” recruits will step into the year 2033 and be challenged to follow in the Martian pioneers footsteps, via a cable robot virtual reality simulator and more, from October 26-29. Series launches Monday, November 14 at 9 p.m.

Speaking of Mars, this was posted on the New York Times today:

President Obama said Tuesday that collaboration with private space companies would be crucial to the goal of humans reaching Mars by the 2030s. The statement came in an opinion column published on CNN.com. In 2010, Mr. Obama set a target of reaching an asteroid by 2025 and Mars by the mid-2030s, while calling for the private industry to lead the way. His column on Tuesday, along with a joint blog post by senior White House and NASA officials, offered new details on how the United States expects to get there.

There’s more on the show here, including the trailer below. Elsewhere online, I saw it described as “a hybrid blend of scripted drama and documentary.”

And maybe the virtual-reality experience will be something like this:

Got a question? Email it to tribecacitizen@gmail.com or call/text 917-209-6473.

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