Designing Trust Into a Living Map of Space
Space exploration is one of humanity’s most fascinating stories, yet most people struggle to understand where missions actually are, how they relate to one another, or even how large our solar system truly is.
Mission information is scattered across agency websites, technical documents, news articles, and educational resources. Existing visualizations often simplify reality to improve readability, but in doing so can blur the line between illustration and fact.
I wanted to create a product that could answer a simple question:
“Where is every spacecraft we’ve sent beyond Earth, right now?”
The result became Orrery, an interactive 3D atlas of the solar system that visualizes every active and historical deep-space mission using source-verified data.
The Design Challenge
The biggest challenge was balancing accuracy with comprehension.
A scientifically accurate solar system is difficult to explore. Distances are so vast that planets become tiny points separated by enormous empty spaces. Spacecraft are effectively invisible.
At the same time, educational products depend on trust. If users cannot tell which information is factual, estimated, or simplified, the experience quickly loses credibility.
The core design problem became:
How might we make the scale of space understandable without sacrificing scientific integrity?
Understanding User Needs
Through research into educational tools, astronomy resources, and science communication platforms, three primary user groups emerged:
Curious Explorers
People who want to browse, discover missions, and learn interesting facts without needing technical knowledge.
Students & Educators
Users looking for a visual learning aid that provides context, history, and reliable sourcing.
Enthusiasts & Researchers
People who want deeper mission details, source material, timelines, and accurate positional data.
The experience needed to support all three audiences without overwhelming beginners or limiting advanced users.
Key Product Decisions
Making Scale Understandable
Rather than forcing users into a single visualization mode, I designed multiple scale views.
Users can switch between educationally compressed views that make the solar system explorable and scientifically accurate scale modes that reveal the true distances involved.
Most importantly, the interface clearly communicates which mode is active so users always understand when distances have been adjusted for readability.
This transformed scale from a limitation into a learning opportunity.
Designing for Trust
One of the product’s guiding principles is:
Never present information that cannot be sourced.
Every mission detail is tied to supporting references and categorized by confidence level.
Information is labeled as:
- Multi-source verified
- Single-source verified
- Estimated
When reliable information cannot be found, the field remains empty rather than displaying assumptions or generated values.
This approach intentionally favors transparency over completeness and helps users understand the quality of the information they’re viewing.
Time as an Exploration Tool
Most educational experiences treat time as a static timestamp.
I wanted users to experience the movement of exploration itself.
Using NASA/JPL ephemeris data, spacecraft and planetary positions can be viewed across different points in history. A timeline allows users to move through decades of exploration, watch missions launch, travel, arrive at destinations, and transition through their operational lifecycles.
Instead of reading history, users can navigate through it.
Supporting Different Levels of Expertise
A common challenge in educational products is presenting information that works for both beginners and experts.
To solve this, mission content is progressively layered:
- Beginner — high-level summaries and key takeaways
- Student — additional context and educational details
- Advanced — deeper technical information and mission specifics
This allows the same experience to scale with a user’s curiosity rather than forcing separate interfaces for different audiences.
Accessibility Considerations
Accessibility was treated as a core design requirement rather than a post-launch enhancement.
Key considerations included:
- Full keyboard navigation
- Visible focus states
- Reduced-motion support
- High-contrast-friendly interfaces
- Screen-reader-accessible content
- Text alternatives for visual assets
Although the solar system visualization is rendered in canvas, mission information remains available through semantic HTML so critical content is accessible to assistive technologies.
Outcome
The final product is a browser-based interactive atlas of deep-space exploration that currently tracks 188 source-verified missions beyond Earth.
Users can explore planets, spacecraft, historical missions, and active missions through a single experience while understanding exactly where information comes from and how trustworthy it is.
More importantly, the project demonstrates a design approach centered on:
- Complex information architecture
- Data transparency
- Educational UX
- Progressive disclosure
- Trust-centered product design
- Balancing scientific accuracy with usability
Orrery continues to evolve as new missions launch and additional data sources become available, serving as both a learning platform and an exploration of how thoughtful UX can make complex subjects more approachable without oversimplifying them.
Live Project: orrery.detroit3d.com