The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Ames Research Center plans a “major announcement involving Google” Monday at 11:00 a.m. PST, it said Friday in a statement.
Although it provided no further details, NASA’s announcement may relate to a 2005 memorandum of understanding (MOU) it signed with Google for development of part of Moffett Field. The MOU calls for Google to develop up to 1 million square feet of NASA’s allotment at their site.
Moffett Field, in Santa Clara County, California, near Google’s headquarters of Mountain View, is a former U.S. Navy base, closed by the Navy in 1994 and made available for civilian use. It currently serves as a civilian airport, along with being home to NASA’s Ames Research Center.
Google construction on to the former naval base would offer it tax advantages if it chose to expand in the Mountain View area. By building at Moffett, Google would be exempt from state and local property taxes, as the site is on federal land.
The MOU also has Google working with NASA for “large-scale data management” and “massively distributed computing.” The two operate a Web site on which employees of the two companies can share information and comment on collaborative efforts.
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