One of the early trends of the 21st Century is the sense that science and space exploration and its expression in film, video, news and events will dominate popular culture as the Internet has during the past decade.

Leading this cultural shift is Google. The search-giant has announced several major initiatives with NASA that have positioned the company as the Space Age leader in information-delivery.

One of Google's first projects was to partner with NASA's Ames Research Center to produce high-resolution 3D maps of Mars and the Moon in the same detail as Google Earth. Users will experience a virtual flight over the surface of the Moon or through the canyons of Mars.

The collaboration will also seek to make NASA data available on the internet, including live weather maps and forecasts, plus real-time tracking of the International Space Station and shuttle.