Google Galaxy Starts with Mars

Google is one step closer to announcing a Google Galaxy (Universe/Solar System) product. Today Google introduced Google Mars, its Maps-like exploration of the surface of Mars. (This is likely an extension of Keyhole's Mars exploration that was quietly forgotten once Google acquired the company.)

But forget Earth or Mars, Google is going to the outer limits! Between July 19 and 21, 2005, Google, Inc. registered the .com/net/org/info domains for Google's name plus all of the planets and words like galaxy, universe, and solar system:

Planets:
GoogleMercury .com .net .org .info
GoogleVenus .com .net .org .info
GoogleEarth .com .net .org .info (already released of course)
GoogleMars .net .org .info (.com currently owned by another party)
GoogleJupiter .com .net. org . info
GoogleSaturn .com .net .org .info
GoogleUranus .com .net .org .info
GoogleNeptune .com .net .org .info
GooglePluto .com .net .org .info

Possible Project Names:
GoogleGalaxy .com .net .org .info
GoogleGalactic .com .net .org .info
GoogleUniverse .net .org .info (.com currently owned by another party)
GoogleSatellite .com .net .org .info (created earlier on 4/08/05)
GoogleSolarSystem .com .net .org .info

I have been sitting on this knowledge for awhile, and now it pays off with the release of Google Mars, making it almost certain that Google Galaxy (or some similar project that lets you flyover and explore all of the planets) is in the works. A few other things have tipped us off..

It is no coincidence that on July 20, 2005, one day after registering these domain names, Google released its Google Moon product (with moon-is-cheese joke) as a quirky yet sneaky foreshadowing to its coming project...

Apparently Google Mars was made in collaboration with NASA (view the flyover video that marries all the info), so Google's announced partnership with NASA last September must be yet another clue to what is coming....



Earth, Moon, Mars, and what next? Most certainly, the Universe!

[Digg this]