NASA and Global Change

Google Tech Talks December 11, 2008 ABSTRACT Abstract: Almost exactly forty years ago, aboard NASA's Apollo VIII spacecraft, the first humans to leave our world took perhaps the most important and influential photographs of all time: The full Earth (taken from halfway to the moon), and Earthrise (taken from lunar orbit). These two images completely changed the way we look at our planet, at our environment, and at ourselves. That is to say: in 1968, humanity discovered the planet Earth. But what has NASA done lately to help the Earth? At present, NASA has more than a dozen large Earth observing satellites in orbit, returning over a terabyte per day of physical, chemical, and climatological data about our planet. NASA gathers more data about the earth, and funds more research in the Earth Sciences, than the rest of the world combined. Dr. Worden will survey NASA'a activities in Earth science, climate modeling, and environmental technology. He will also discuss the information technology under development (some in partnership with Google) for disseminating and analyzing the massive data generated by these activities. Speaker: Pete Worden Prior positions for Dr. Worden included Director of Development and Transformation, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command; Consultant to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on space related issues; Congressional Fellow with the Office of Senator Sam Brownback as advisor on NASA and space issues; Staff officer for the Presidents National Space Council. Dr. Worden spearheaded efforts to revitalize U.S. civil space exploration and earth monitoring systems. He has authored or co-authored more than 150 scientific technical papers in astrophysics, space sciences, and strategic studies, served as a scientific co-investigator for two NASA space science missions and is a recognized expert on space issues both civil and military.