16th May 2006

3D tours with NASA

posted in open source, science |

NASA World Wind is a free, open source software program (for Windows-based computers only at present) similar to Google Earth but with all 3D imagery. According to the website:

World Wind lets you zoom from satellite altitude into any place on Earth. Leveraging Landsat satellite imagery and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data, World Wind lets you experience Earth terrain in visually rich 3D, just as if you were really there.

The LandSat7 imagery of mountains, like this one of Mount Saint Helens in Washington state, look amazing:

Mount Saint Helens Landsat7 imagery

The Microsoft .NET Framework Version 1.1 Redistributable Package (free) is required if not already installed on your WinXP or Win2000 computer– the installer will prompt if you want to install this and redirect you to the appropriate download page from Microsoft- a restart is NOT required after installing .NET Framework Files and DirectX files (if not already on your system.)

According to the post shared by Bonnie Bracey Sutton (NASA ASEC 2006) on the World Wide Web in Education List (through Yahoo Groups) where I learned about this program:

A version written in the Java computer language that will run on Macintosh and Linux computers is scheduled for release in September 2006.

Also according to Bonnie’s post:

We can . . . (now) deliver the moon at 66 feet (20 meters) of resolution… Launched in early 1994, Clementine took 1.8 million pictures of the lunar surface during a two-month orbit of the moon. The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and NASA jointly sponsored the Deep Space Program Science Experiment that included the Clementine spacecraft. Its principal objective was to ’space-qualify’ lightweight imaging sensors and component technologies for the next generation of Department of Defense spacecraft.

World Wind Mars and World Wind Moon are also included when you install the program. You can explore Earth, Jupiter, Mars, the Moon, SDSS (The Sloan Digital Sky Server), and Venus with the program.

Here again, we see new technologies SIMPLIFYING the process of accessing and using highly complex resources and imagery, empowering a new generation of researchers (even elementary-age ones) to explore their world in ways unimaginable just a few short years ago. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: What an incredibly exciting age we live in, especially for those who are learners and explorers! We need to share these tools and the exciting panoramas of exploration that they can offer us with more students and teachers in our schools!!!

Check out the World Wind Wiki for FAQs and answers related to the program. Excellent to see NASA embracing open source licensing and the use of web 2.0 tools like wikis!

On this day..

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