Introduction Moffett Field, CA Virtual Planetary Exploration (VPE) is a NASA Virtual Environment (VE) project. It is a l f "research tool for investigating concepts, methods, and user-interaction strategies that may prove usefu or the design of planetary exploration workstations based on the virtual reality paradigm." The goal of 1 l s this application is to support "virtual exploration" of planetary terrain that exhibits geomorphologica tructure and detail usable by planetary geologists and rover vehicle engineers. VPE will be used to m perform scientific observation and analysis and to assist mission planning and operations. This VE ust not only be immersive and highly realistic but also scientifically accurate. VPE is expected to " c demonstrate that both unmanned and manned space exploration can benefit from "virtual exploration apabilities. The initial application of VPE is visualization of the surface of Mars. The data used in our . W geometric model ha

The modern graphics processing unit (GPU) is the result of 40 years of evolution of hardware to accelerate graphics processing operations. It represents the convergence of support for multiple market segments: computer-aided design, medical imaging, digital content creation, document and presentation applications, and entertainment applications. The exceptional performance characteristics of the GPU make it an attractive target for other application domains. We examine some of this evolution, look at the structure of a modern GPU, and discuss how graphics processing exploits this structure and how nongraphical applications can take advantage of this capability. We discuss some of the technical and market issues around broader adoption of this technology.