SpaceRef.com reports that Google and NASA are to make an announcement tomorrow. The details of the announcement are not clear, but I would speculate that NASA has provided Google with more detailed imagery and data points so that Google can improve Google Earth. There is currently Google Earth, Google Moon, and Google Mars. What do you think is coming next? Enhanced imagery? Better data points? Google Pluto? Google Deep Space?

SpaceRef.com writes that it has learned that the “agreement represents a significant advance for how the agency might collaborate with the private sector in the future – specificially as to how the agency takes its vast collection of data and imagery and makes it more easily available to the world. Among the details of this new cooperative project, Google will be contributing funding to support NASA employees – and not just at ARC – but at other NASA centers as well.”

Postscript: SpaceRef.com has updated their article saying; “While this announcement will still happen, NASA ARC PAO now says it has been delayed until a date that has been “mutually agreed upon by NASA and Google.”" So I assume no announcement later today.

Related Topics: Google: Earth | Google: Partnerships

About The Author: Barry Schwartz is Search Engine Land's News Editor and owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here. For more background information on Barry, see his full bio over here. See more articles by Barry Schwartz