Astronauts installing live version of GOOGLE EARTH on the ISS. All Seeing Eye++

Astronauts on the ISS are installing what they’re calling a “live” version of Google on the ISS. Whatever could go wrong with this? Besides — you know. The inevitable Robotic Uprising of 2014. Jesus Christ. We’ve given them a perfect perch from where they will be able to monitor the human labor camps, building their 50 foot tall robo-bodies.

Imagine a version of Google Earth that uses real-time imagery instead of years-old satellite data. This is the premise behind UrtheCast – a camera that Russian astronauts Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy will be mounting today outside of the International Space Station. Watch the installation-spacewalk live, here on io9!

“You have data that is being refreshed all the time, with videos coming down over interesting areas where interesting events are going on, showing you what is changing, what is going on,” said George Tyc, the chief technology officer at UrtheCast, in an interview with Universe Today.

“What we really hope to pull off is to change the paradigm, get the everyday person interacting and seeing the data coming down from space to see the Earth and how it is evolving over time in a way that isn’t available right now.”

Today’s UrtheCast-installing spacewalk kicked off this morning at 8 a.m., and is scheduled to continue for 7 hours, give or take. For more info on UrtheCast and today’s spacewalk, check out this in-depth piece from Universe Today.

[io9]