Discovering Gale Crater: How The L.A. Times Built Its First Virtual Reality Project

Remember when virtual reality first became a "thing?" We loved Snow Crash and Lawnmower Man. We were pumped. Then we waited — for 20 years.

Now, we finally get to play in that sandbox. We built the tour of Gale Crater to discover how journalism could succeed in virtual reality. It presents new opportunities for telling stories and, possibly, a new platform for consuming and distributing news in the future. And besides, it’s kind of amazing to be able to fly around another planet on your phone.