The two organizations signed a 40-year lease that’ll give Google 42 acres of land on the space agency property. Google plans to use the space to build a massive research and development facility, joining the public and private sector together in a high-stakes experiment.

“With this new campus, we will establish a new era of expanded collaboration with Google that will further enhance our Silicon Valley connections,” explained Ames Director S. Pete Worden. “This major expansion of NASA Research Park supports NASA’s mission to lead the nation in space exploration, scientific discovery, and aeronautics research.”

NASA and Google have been working together since 2005, teaming up on projects like Planetary Content — a series of programs aimed at helping scientists catalog data on planets online.

The first phase of construction is set to start no later than September 2013, with the third and final phase slated for the year 2022. The rent won’t be cheap, either: Google will pay NASA a cool $3.66 million a year for the land.

Google Getting Closer To Space is a post from: The Inquisitr