Google Earth Lands on Mars Planet
NASA
and Google announced Monday the release of a new Mars mode in Google
Earth. The new feature will allow users to have on their desktops a
high-resolution, 3D view of the Red Planet. Google has also launched
ocean in Google Earth to enable users to dive beneath the water
surface.
Besides
providing an 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.
According to NASA, the announcement is the latest benefit from a Space
Act Agreement of 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.
Meanwhile, Google has launched ocean in Google Earth, a new feature that
will enable users to dive beneath the water surface, explore 3D
underwater terrain and browse ocean-related content contributed by
leaders in ocean science and advocacy.
The new
version of Google Earth, says Google, also introduces Historical
Imagery, a feature that enables users to virtually travel back in time
through archival satellite and aerial imagery.
Google Earth 5.0 is now available in
41 languages.
It combines satellite imagery, maps
and the Google search service to make the geographic information
accessible. Launched in June, 2005, Google Earth can be downloaded for
free at http://earth.google.com/
Photo courtesy: Google
