From: NASA News <hqnews.nul>
Date: Mon 02 Feb 2009 13:40:00 EST
Archived: Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:22:16 -0500
Subject: NASA & Google Launch Virtual Exploration Of Mars


Feb. 02, 2009

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown.nul

Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-3937
michael.s.mewhinney.nul

RELEASE: 09-024

NASA AND GOOGLE LAUNCH VIRTUAL EXPLORATION OF MARS

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA and Google announced Monday the
release of a new Mars mode in Google Earth that brings to
everyone's desktop a high-resolution, three-dimensional view of
the Red Planet.

Besides providing a rich, immersive 3D view of Mars that will
aid public understanding of Mars science, the new mode, Google
Mars 3D, also gives researchers a platform for sharing data
similar to what Google Earth provides for Earth scientists.

The mode enables users to fly virtually through enormous canyons
and scale huge mountains on Mars that are much larger than any
found on Earth. Users also can explore the Red Planet through
the eyes of the Mars rovers and other Mars missions, providing a
unique perspective of the entire planet.

Users can see some of the latest satellite imagery from NASA's
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and other probes orbiting the Red
Planet. Viewers can learn about new discoveries and explore
indexes of available Mars imagery. The new Mars mode also allows
users to add their own 3D content to the Mars map to share with
the world.

Today's announcement is the latest benefit from a Space Act
Agreement NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.,
signed with Google in November 2006. Under its terms, NASA and
Google agreed to collaborate to make NASA's data sets available
to the world.

NASA Ames, along with its partners at Google, Carnegie Mellon
University, SETI, and other institutions, helped produce the
data to make this possible.

Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of
people around the world with information every day. Google is
headquartered close to Ames in Silicon Valley with offices
throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:



http://www.nasa.gov


For more information about Google, visit:



http://www.google.com


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