Internet search engine Google Inc., and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) signed a collaboration agreement Monday that calls for Google to help make NASA information readily accessible on the Internet.
Under the arrangement, NASA will feed Google with its weather forecasting information, three-dimensional maps of the moon and Mars, and real-time tracking of the International Space Station and space shuttle flights so the pictures and data wil be available to anyone with an Internet connection.
“This agreement between NASA and Google will soon allow every person to experience a virtual flight over the surface of the moon or through the canyons of Mars,” NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said in a statement.
The two organizations will also tackle what they consider to be challenging technical problems in areas like large-scale data management, massively distributed computing and user interfaces.
“Partnering with NASA made perfect sense for Google, as it has a wealth of technical expertise and data that will be of great use to Google as we look to tackle many computing issues on behalf of our users,” Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said.
NASA and Google said they are also finalizing details for additional collaborations in areas such as research, products, facilities and education.
