NASA and Goggle Earth Teaming Up To Release Goggle Mars 3D

NASA and Goggle Earth Teaming Up To Release Goggle Mars 3D; Users Will Be Given a High Resolution, 3D View of the Red Planet


Written by: Karen Benardello


In conjunction with Goggle, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced on Monday, February 2 that it is releasing a new Mars mode on Goggle Earth. The virtual globe, map and geographic information website will offer a high-resolution, three-dimensional view of the Red Planet.

This immersive 3D view of Mars, which will unsurprisingly be called Goggle Mars 3D, will not only aid the public’s understanding of the planet’s scientific studies, but will also provide researchers a platform for sharing data, much like Goggle Earth does for scientists studying Earth.

Goggle Mars 3D will not only allow users to virtually fly through the planet’s enormous canyons, but also let them scale the huge Martian mountains that are much larger than any found on Earth. People will also be given a unique perspective of the planet by being able to explore the latest satellite imagery through the eyes of Mars’ rovers and missions, including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The website will also allow users to learn about new discoveries and explore the indexes of the Red Planet’s available imagery. The new Mars mode will also let users add their own 3D content to the planet’s map.

This new Mars mode is the latest collaboration to arise from the Space Act Agreement, which NASA's Ames Research Center entered into with Google in November 2006. Under the agreement’s terms, NASA and Google decided to collaborate, in order to make NASA's data sets available to the world.

This 3D addition to Goggle is a great idea, as it will get people interested in science again. With the ever increasing popularity in 3D movies, NASA undoubtingly decided to jump in on the trend to spike public interest in Mars. With all the new developments in the Mars’ chemistry and science, people should become interested in, and understand, what’s going on in their neighboring planet; providing real-life images will help people do so. Plus, the added bonus of Goggle Mars 3D is that scientists will be able to study the Red Planet from the comfort of their own homes or labs.