At a speech in Washington, D.C., Thursday commemorating the 50th anniversary of U.S. space exploration, Google CEO Eric Schmidt advised NASA to learn from what's happening online.
As reported in this IDG news service article, Schmidt pointed to the wellsprings of innovation opened when data and applications are opened to creative use by the public. Nobody can think of everything, he argued – so it's best to collaborate with as many people as possible.
He cited open-source software development projects, and the huge range of unexpected uses to which people online have put his company's Google Earth application. Here's Schmidt, quoted by IDG:
A complete open-development model is impossible for government-funded space projects, he conceded. Failure means something different when there is tax money involved, and people's lives on the line. But open, flexible collaboration could still bring new ideas into the agency, he said.
In fact, Google and NASA have already opened up some collaboration.
Since 2005, the two companies have agreed to work together on a number of topics, ranging from data management to encouragement of the commercial space industry.
Certainly Google's $20 million X Prize funding for the first team to put a robot lander on the moon will help people think creatively about space.
NASA Should Collaborate With Public, Eric Schmidt Says[IDG news service (via New York Times)]
(Image: Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Credit: Google)
