Augmented reality goggles (think Google Glass on steroids) could someday be used by astronauts for anything from experiments to spacewalks. That the hope of the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, which handed out a grant to Baltimore’s Juxtopia earlier this month, Emerging Technology Centers officials announced Thursday.

Juxtopia is housed at the ETC’s Highlandtown incubator.

CASIS is a nonprofit that manages research on the International Space Station’s U.S. National Laboratory.

“These AR goggles will provide virtual assistance that will improve the speed and accuracy with which astronauts perform ISS National Lab science experiments,” Juxtopia CEO Jayfus Doswell said in an ETC release. “Moreover, Earth-based markets for this product exist in emergency organizations that employ first responders who work in austere and extreme environments.”

The grant was one of three the organization issued earlier this month. The other two grants went to projects in California and New York.

“To enable world-class science, you need to have world-class facilities and innovative platforms to conduct research,” CASIS COO Duane Ratliff said in a release announcing the gifts earlier this month. “The ISS already serves as an unparalleled platform for research and innovation, and through continued enhancements to the station, we will continue open more opportunity to the research community and drive inquiry truly capable of groundbreaking discovery not capable on Earth.”

The exact dollar amount of the grant was not made available by either the ETC or CASIS.

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