Feb. 02, 2009

Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown{at}nasa.gov

Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-3937
michael.s.mewhinney{at}nasa.gov

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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