NASA Ames and Xerox personnel conduct a live demonstration of the NX system.

NASA and Xerox Corp. have formed a new technology partnership in which the Stamford, Conn., company will help NASA develop state-of-the-art collaboration and knowledge-management systems, while providing new tools and applications that support NASA's implementation of the Vision for Space Exploration.

By partnering with public companies such as Xerox, NASA will save taxpayer dollars on research and development by using proven technology and expertise to advance agency missions. Xerox also will base a consumer product on the co-developed technology.

"This joint venture combines the best software technology from NASA and Xerox," says G. Scott Hubbard, director of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "Since both partners bring new technology to the project, we will get new tools tailored specifically for NASA needs in a very cost-effective way."

By yielding innovations that provide software solutions to large-scale problems in information management, the partnership will benefit NASA scientists, affiliates and the commercial sector.

"Working with high-tech companies allows NASA to pursue its mission of space discovery in a more collaborative spirit, while taking advantage of the best technology the commercial sector has to offer," says Craig Steidle, associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.

Hervé Gallaire (left), Chief Technology Officer for Xerox, with NASA Ames Research Center Director G. Scott Hubbard (right) signing the partnership agreement between NASA Ames and Xerox.

The partnership is already paying dividends. NX Knowledge Network, a new system that combines Ames' Netmark search and recomposition software and content management with collaboration software from Xerox's global research centers, is supporting collaborative research across the various missions and project teams at Ames.

One pilot application of this system is occurring at the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI). NAI researchers are using NX on a distributed basis across a dozen universities as well as Ames to sort and quickly analyze data, collaborate and answer questions, such as whether organic life exists on Mars. NX also enables other applications to help manage project risk, investigate mishaps and analyze anomalies.

"Many of the challenges at NASA mirror those of the global commercial enterprise," says Xerox Chief Technology Officer Hervé Gallaire. "We see this as an excellent opportunity to partner two highly sophisticated technical teams to address complex yet real-world information management problems."

For more information, contact David Lackner, Ames Research Center, David.I.Lackner@nasa.gov.

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