The NASA Ames Research Center and Google announced Monday that they had signed a formal agreement to collaborate on a broad set of projects that could include virtual flyovers of the Moon and Mars.
December 19, 2006 (Press Release) --
Google Earth, meet Google Moon and Google Mars.
The NASA Ames Research Center and Google announced Monday that they had signed a formal agreement to collaborate on a broad set of projects that could include virtual flyovers of the Moon and Mars, and other initiatives that will make NASA’s vast trove of space and weather data widely available on the Internet.
"This is going to bring the excitement of space travel" to a wider audience, said S. Pete Worden, director of the Ames Research Center, near Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
Mr. Worden said that as the space agency pursued new manned space missions, the technology-sharing agreement might enable people everywhere to feel the crunch of an astronaut’s step as he walked on the surface of the Moon or even Mars.
The collaboration may also allow the public to track space shuttle flights or the International Space Station in real time.
The signing of a Space Act Agreement formalizes a planned collaboration announced in September 2005. Still, Google and NASA spoke of possible joint projects only in broad outlines.
Among them was the possibility that, using data from NASA, Google will develop products that work like Google Earth for the Moon and other planets. Google Earth is a software program allowing users to view a three-dimensional image of the world and then zoom in to specific areas for close-up views.
Currently Google offers limited two-dimensional views of the moon and Mars.
NASA is already known for offering compelling images from space on its Web site, said Chris C. Kemp, director of business development at Ames. The agreement with Google will allow a great expansion of the agency’s offerings.
Mr. Kemp said the agency had already worked with several private-sector companies and was eager to work with more. "Part of the message here is that we are open for business," he said.
Neither Google nor NASA would comment on specific terms of the agreement. But Mr. Worden said NASA had funds to make some data and images available to the public. Google may finance specific projects to make additional data broadly accessible and integrated into its services, he said.
When Google and NASA first announced their planned collaboration, Google said it planned to build as much as a million square feet of space at Ames Research Center. A Google executive said that project was still in preliminary planning stages.
Author: MIGUEL HELFT
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/
The NASA Ames Research Center and Google announced Monday that they had signed a formal agreement to collaborate on a broad set of projects that could include virtual flyovers of the Moon and Mars, and other initiatives that will make NASA’s vast trove of space and weather data widely available on the Internet.
"This is going to bring the excitement of space travel" to a wider audience, said S. Pete Worden, director of the Ames Research Center, near Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
Mr. Worden said that as the space agency pursued new manned space missions, the technology-sharing agreement might enable people everywhere to feel the crunch of an astronaut’s step as he walked on the surface of the Moon or even Mars.
The collaboration may also allow the public to track space shuttle flights or the International Space Station in real time.
The signing of a Space Act Agreement formalizes a planned collaboration announced in September 2005. Still, Google and NASA spoke of possible joint projects only in broad outlines.
Among them was the possibility that, using data from NASA, Google will develop products that work like Google Earth for the Moon and other planets. Google Earth is a software program allowing users to view a three-dimensional image of the world and then zoom in to specific areas for close-up views.
Currently Google offers limited two-dimensional views of the moon and Mars.
NASA is already known for offering compelling images from space on its Web site, said Chris C. Kemp, director of business development at Ames. The agreement with Google will allow a great expansion of the agency’s offerings.
Mr. Kemp said the agency had already worked with several private-sector companies and was eager to work with more. "Part of the message here is that we are open for business," he said.
Neither Google nor NASA would comment on specific terms of the agreement. But Mr. Worden said NASA had funds to make some data and images available to the public. Google may finance specific projects to make additional data broadly accessible and integrated into its services, he said.
When Google and NASA first announced their planned collaboration, Google said it planned to build as much as a million square feet of space at Ames Research Center. A Google executive said that project was still in preliminary planning stages.
Author: MIGUEL HELFT
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/
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