Live from space: You talk to Commander Mark Kelly and the Endeavour Crew

(Cross-posted from the YouTube Blog)

UPDATE 4/29: NASA has scrubbed the launch attempt today due to a technical problem. We'll provide an update here on the live streamed launch and live interview, and you can follow NASA updates here.

We’ve always jumped at the chance to bring the wonders of space a little closer to home. We’ve announced a Moon office, a Moon race and an expedition to Mars and brought many nooks and crannies of the universe to Google Earth—Sky, Moon, Mars, NASA images and a Hubble tour, to name a few.

On Friday, April 29, the crew of STS-134 will launch into space for the final mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour and we want to give you the chance to connect with them. On May 2, NASA Commander Mark Kelly and his crew will take your questions live from space on YouTube. PBS NewsHour will live stream the interview from its YouTube channel with veteran space reporter Miles O’Brien curating and asking your questions to the crew.

Starting today, you can visit www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour to submit a video or written question for the crew of STS-134 to be used in the live interview and vote for your favorite questions. You can also submit questions on Twitter with the hashtag #utalk2nasa. Don’t be shy—if you’re most curious about how to prepare for a spacewalk or wondering if the astronauts have a speech prepared for an extra-terrestrial encounter, this is your chance to find out. Here’s a video from PBS and Miles O’Brien to inspire you:



A few suggestions before submitting your questions:

• Video questions are preferred, and should be a max of 20 seconds long
• Speak clearly and film in a place with minimal background noise. Keep the camera as still as possible and ask the question directly to the camera
• Look through NASA videos on YouTube about STS-134 to learn more about the mission and crew

You have until Saturday April 30 at midnight ET to submit your questions. The top ranked questions will be used in the live interview on Monday, May 2 at 2:15pm ET / 11:15am PT.

To get the full experience of STS-134, you can also watch a live stream of the shuttle launch on Friday April 29 starting at 3:47pm ET at www.youtube.com/pbsnewshour. Both the launch and the interview will be available for archived viewing.

Houston, we’re ready for lift-off.

Posted by Ginny Hunt, Public Sector Program Manager

Get a better view of mountains in Google Earth

Mountains have long been catalysts for inspiring artists and challenging the human spirit. Today, we're adding a host of new features to the "Mountains" layer in Google Earth, to more easily appreciate their elegance and beauty. To see the layer, make sure “Mountains” is checked in the left layers panel of Google Earth.

Let’s fly to Mount Everest, the highest mountain on the planet, to see one of the latest features. A green icon () will now be visible from high up.


Click on the green icon to view information about this mountain. Below is the bubble that will appear when you click on Mount Everest.

The bubble content includes Everest’s elevation, a link to a KML tour (more on that below), a link to an article on the mountain and a slide deck of Panoramio images. Hovering over the image will reveal arrows to let you view additional photos of Everest.

In the “Elevation Profile” section, you can view elevation cross-sections of the mountain in four directions (click on the links labeled “S-N”, “W-E”, “NW-SE”, “SW-NE” to change the cross-section views in the direction of your choice). The cross section is shown as a black line on the shaded relief image of the mountain, viewed on the right-hand side.

We're also excited to show off the tours created for each and every mountain. Click on the "Fly on a tour" link to download a KML tour. Hit the "Play" icon once the tour has downloaded and you'll be taken to a vantage point near the peak and flown in a circle to take in the views. Below is a YouTube video showing the tour for the Matterhorn.



We’ve also added hundreds of thousands of new labels for water bodies all over the world. Click on the “Water Bodies” label just underneath “Mountains” in the layer panel to see new labels for seas, bays, lakes, and reservoirs (rivers are not yet labeled).


We hope these changes will help enhance the use of Google Earth for education, learning, and exploring.

Posted by Cris Castello, GIS Data Engineer

Geographic Stars Compete in the National Geographic Bee State Championships

Understanding the world around you is imperative, especially since technology has made it easier and fun to explore places you could, otherwise, only imagine. Being geographically literate helps you interpret the plethora of information that comes your way each day (and that’s no joke)! Without the perspective of knowing where you are or where things happen, you can find it difficult to navigate your way through it all. That is why Google is excited and proud to sponsor the National Geographic Bee for the third year, which sparks student interest in geography.

Last fall, over four million students started preparing for the 2011 Bee. Today, the students who have progressed to the state bee level, will compete for one of the coveted 54 spots at the finals in Washington DC in May. It’s not as simple as memorizing a list of capitals or identifying places on a map. These geographic black belts answer tough questions about human, environmental, physical, and regional geography.

The love of geography is a great asset for these students as they continue their education and careers. It might also lead them to a life of exploration and adventure. We asked a few famous explorers why geography is important to them and how they use Google Earth. Watch our Geography video below to hear their great insight:



We wish all of the competitors the best of luck!

Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Engineering, Google Earth and Maps

Take a festive tour for St. Patrick’s Day

People all over the world today are celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day in many different ways. You might walk in a local parade, spot a leprechaun, get pinched for not wearing green, bake some corned beef and cabbage, or even dare to drink a green pint.

For me, this holiday is not just about enjoying a feast with friends (even though I love baking the soda bread) – it’s also about going back to my Irish family heritage. Since Google Maps with Street View is available in Ireland, I went back to one of my favorite spots, Roundstone fishing village, that I visited two years ago. The winding, coastline roads are just as I remember them.

To get into the spirit, you can also play a Google Earth Tour to visit special places in Ireland and places around that world that celebrate this holiday. Fly to the Kilkenny Castle in 3D, see an exit ramp in the shape of a Shamrock, and visit an Irish village. We’ve also added the tour to the Google Earth Gallery so you can download the file and explore on your own.

Every year, the Chicago river turns green for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade

For this Irish celebration, you can also add your own 3D buildings to Google Earth. With Google Building Maker, find your spot in Dublin, Ireland and quickly model a building using our photos. Or, try your hand at SketchUp and add your own creations to Google Earth anywhere in the world (buildings above were created by users).


So now we’ve given you plenty of ideas on how to celebrate this Irish holiday. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted by Tasha Danko, Google Earth Marketing

From Bermuda to the Bahamas with the Sargasso Sea Expedition

Have you ever dreamed of setting sail across the Bermuda Triangle? Well, now you can follow the recent MBARI Sargasso Sea Expedition virtually by reading a series of posts from the cruise in Google Earth. To follow this sea expedition, download the complete log kml or visit the Earth Gallery.

MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) researchers and scientists from the University of Hawaii, University of Miami and Stanford University sailed 940 miles (1500 km) from Bermuda to the Bahamas across the North Atlantic Ocean through the Sargasso Sea. Their goal was to better understand this unique ocean habitat which is named for the free-floating brown algae Sargassum (also called “gulf weed”) and its associated community of marine life. Under the direction of Chief Scientist Ken Smith, the expedition team measured biodiversity and the impacts of climate change and carbon cycling to this ecosystem. They also learned more about deep ocean animals.

See a school of eels swarming around bait anchored to the sea floor.

The mission is the second voyage for the Schmidt Ocean Institute ship, Lone Ranger, whose Facebook page you can follow here, a former ocean tug that has been retrofitted for cutting-edge science investigations.

You can follow the MBARI Expedition Logbook to read a day by day account of the Expedition.

Posted by Jenifer Foulkes, Product Manager, the Ocean in Google Earth & Maps

Mission Blue: Follow an Expedition off Easter Island, Chile

Have you ever dreamed of embarking on an exciting expedition? Well, now you can follow a ship traveling the ocean in Google Earth. National Geographic and Oceana scientists in collaboration with the Chilean Navy are traveling on their next Mission Blue expedition to the remote Salas y Gomez Island. This island is 250 miles (390 km) east of Easter Island. They aim to discover what lies beneath these largely unexplored waters.

To follow along, open Google Earth and search for “Easter Island, Chile”. Look for the blue ship icon heading eastward as it travels to Salas y Gomez Island. Check back daily through March 10th to track this expedition (make sure the Places layer is turned on). The science team will share updates from the expedition as they travel east from Easter Island toward Salas y Gomez Island - including photographs, videos and links to the National Geographic News Watch blog. National Geographic and Oceana are members of Mission Blue.

We are also excited that we were able to quickly publish new imagery for the island in Google Earth and Google Maps, so that now anyone can visit Salas y Gomez virtually.

Click on the blue ship icon near Easter Island in Google Earth
to see the most recent post from the expedition.

In addition to the ship icon in Google Earth, you can also download the expedition KML or visit the Google Earth Gallery to download the file.

To bring this expedition to life for thousands of teachers and students around the globe, the National Geographic Ocean Education Program is working with Oracle® Education Foundation in the Oracle ThinkQuest online community. Educators can find lesson plans, submit questions to the research team while at sea, discuss with classrooms around the world and more. Visit the ThinkQuest website to apply to join the global community of teachers and students.

We hope you enjoy this virtual adventure at sea with the research team at Mission Blue.

Posted by Pete Giencke, GIS Data Engineer

Explore our U.S. Presidents on a map

When I was in elementary school, I got two days off every February; one for George Washington and another for Abraham Lincoln. I remember classrooms were usually wallpapered with a potpourri of decorations left over from Valentine’s Day and token silhouettes of these two Presidents thumb-tacked to the bulletin board. My teachers would talk about the significance of the holiday during class but with lack of visuals to pique my interest, it was always hard to retain (and fully enjoy!) the information. With that in mind, we’re pleased to celebrate the President’s Day holiday in the U.S. by letting you go back in time to learn more about our past presidents in a visually fun and interactive way.

We’ve created a U.S. Presidents Showcase to map the birthplaces of all 44 presidents, and provide details about their presidential terms, using the Google Earth plug-in. You can also see the states that voted during each president’s election by clicking on the tours in the left column of the showcase.


Whether you’re a history buff or simply curious to learn more about U.S. presidents, we hope you enjoy exploring a little further using Google Earth. In addition to the U.S. Presidents map, educators can use some of our other resources in their classroom to explore more aspects of history. Here are a few ideas:

• Explore the White House, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and other historical monuments in 3D and have students explain how architecture is used to honor people, concepts and establishments
• View a 3D model of Valley Forge National Park in Google Earth
• View a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln and map the areas where slavery ended, as well as the areas that were not initially covered by this executive order
• Discuss the famous painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware” by German American artist Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze and use the ruler tool in Google Earth to measure the width of the Delaware River
  

We hope you have fun exploring and learning a little more of the history behind the President’s Day holiday. And when you’re done, go out and enjoy your day off!

Posted by Tina Ornduff, Geo Education Program Manager

Mission Blue: Return to the Gulf of Mexico

With support from Google, the Waitt Foundation, Hope Spots LLC and the National Geographic Society, Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue are embarking on an expedition to the Gulf of Mexico that will take a deep look at how the region is recovering from the five million gallons of oil spilled from the BP Deep Horizon Oil Spill last year. Follow along with the expedition by checking back daily and clicking on the blue ship icon in Google Earth located off of the US coast near Pensacola, Florida, where the expedition begins (make sure the Places layer is turned on). The science team will share updates and media from the expedition, including photographs, videos and links to Google maps on the National Geographic News Watch blog here.

Click on the blue ship icon near Pensacola, Florida in Google Earth
to see the most recent post from the expedition.

"Our goal is to identify areas with potential for Gulf ecosystem recovery," said Dr. Earle, founder of SEAlliance and recipient of the 2009 TED Prize that developed into Mission Blue, an international ocean conservation movement. "That is going to require protection of places healthy enough to replenish and rebuild populations. What’s happened here is far from over for the clams and oysters and other sea life critical to a healthy Gulf of Mexico."

The fate and impact of the spilled oil, gas and dispersants applied following the blowout into the Gulf are the subject of intense discussion by experts. The expedition team, assembled under the broad banner of the Mission Blue initiative, seeks answers to questions about the current status of key species and ecosystems.

Other research participants include: Dr. Thomas Shirley, Larry McKinney, Douglas Weaver and Harriet Nash from the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; Edith Widder and Brandy Nelson, Ocean Research & Conservation Association and Carl Safina, Blue Ocean Institute. Research dives are planned using a Dual Deepworker submersible made available to the expedition by the Waitt Institute.

You can also experience the expedition for yourself by downloading this KML for viewing in Google Earth.

Posted by Jenifer Foulkes, Product Manager, Ocean in Google Earth and Maps

Comets and robots

On October 20th, Comet Hartley 2 will swing by Earth, passing a scant 19 million kilometers overhead. If your 15" telescope is at the shop, it's too cold to star-gaze in your pajamas or you're just having a spate of cometophobia, don't fret, we've got your back.

We've teamed up with the great folks at Slooh.com to deliver a live stream of images straight from their user-controlled robotic telescope network into Sky in Google Earth. Our new Slooh layer features thousands of images taken by Slooh users, with new images being added every few minutes.

You can find this latest addition to Sky in Google Earth by clicking on the planets icon at the top of Google Earth to switch to Sky mode. Then, in the layers panel, open the Current Sky Events folder and click on the Slooh Space Camera layer.

Opening any of the icons in the Slooh layer displays a list of images that have been taken of that object, and clicking any of those will load the image into Sky.

Check out our new layer and see what’s “up,” or head over to slooh.com and try it for yourself. It’s fun and free to sign up. It’s even OK to show up in your pajamas.

Posted by Noel Gorelick, Chief Extraterrestrial Observer

Google Earth helps discover rare hominid ancestor in South Africa

[Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog]

Today, scientists announced a new hominid fossil discovery in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa. The discovery is one of the most significant palaeoanthropological discoveries in recent times, revealing at least two partial hominid skeletons in remarkable condition, dating to between 1.78 and 1.95 million years. We are especially excited because Google Earth played a role in its discovery.


So how did this come about? Back in March 2008, Professor Lee Berger from Witswatersrand University in Johannesburg started to use Google Earth to map various known caves and fossil deposits identified by him and his colleagues over the past several decades, as it seemed the ideal platform by which to share information with other scientists. In addition, he also used Google Earth to locate new fossil deposits by learning to identify what cave sites looked like in satellite images.

At the beginning of this project, there were approximately 130 known cave sites in the region
and around 20 fossil deposits. With the help of the navigation facility and high-resolution satellite imagery in Google Earth, Professor Berger went on to find almost 500 previously unidentified caves and fossil sites, even though the area is one of the most explored in Africa. One of these fossil sites yielded the remarkable discovery of a new species, Australopithecus sediba. This species was an upright walker that shared many physical traits with the earliest known species of the genus homo—and its introduction into the fossil record might answer some key questions about our earliest ancestry in Africa.

We’re absolutely thrilled about this announcement, and delighted that our free mapping tools such as Google Earth and Google Maps continue to enable both individuals and distinguished scientists to explore and learn about their world. With these tools, places both foreign and familiar can be explored with the click of a mouse, allowing for new understandings of geography, topology, urbanism, development, architecture and the environment. Our efforts to organize the world’s geographic information are ongoing — but at the end of the day, seeing the way these tools are put to use is what most inspires us.



Posted by Michael Jones, Chief Technology Advocate