Sergey Brin wants first-hand view of Google earth

Never accuse Google co-founder Sergey Brin of failing to see the big-picture.

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Brin has invested $5 million in Space Adventures, the Virginia-based company that takes private citizens into space. (Motto: “Our mission is your spaceflight.”)

The New York Times reports today that the investment will likely reserve a seat for Brin on a 2011 flight.

The trip was scheduled to be announced at a press conference this morning at the Explorers Club in New York.

Brin was quoted in a company statement as saying, “I am a big believer in the exploration and commercial development of the space frontier, and am looking forward to the possibility of going into space.”

Space Adventures has been sending travelers into orbit since 2001, beginning with multimillionaire Dennis Tito.

Google is a sponsor of the Google Lunar X Prize, a $30 million award to the first privately funded team to send a robot to the moon and transmit video, images and data back to earth.

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