In a full 3D environment and with several guided tours

Jul 20, 2009 15:43 GMT  ·  By

Google is announcing the addition of the Moon to its Google Earth application. Many have been expecting the introduction for a while now and there have been some hints recently about the release. The announcement comes just in time to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the first lunar landing, with Google Moon launching on the same day as the historic event. Google Earth has been steadily expanding its scope, first introducing a map of the sky and then Mars.

“This tool will make it easier for millions of people to learn about space, our moon and some of the most significant and dazzling discoveries humanity has accomplished together. Moon in Google Earth enables you to explore lunar imagery as well as informational content about the Apollo landing sites, panoramic images shot by the Apollo astronauts, narrated tours and much more. I believe that this educational tool is a critical step into the future, a way to both develop the dreams of young people globally, and inspire new audacious goals,” Anousheh Ansari, trustee, X PRIZE Foundation, wrote in a guest post on the Official Google Blog.

The new data is now available to Google Earth 5.0 users with no update necessary, but also online at the specially designed Google Moon site. All the regular Google Earth controls are available, allowing users to view the surface of the Moon in a full 3D environment. And, if one gets bored of aimlessly 'flying' around the Moon, Google also provides a lot of information on all of the lunar landings starting from the Apollo 11 mission and ending with Apollo 17.

Each mission comes with a number of markers pointing to interesting places related to the mission. There are tons of photos taken by the astronauts themselves and even video content embedded in the application. Also mapped are all of the spacecraft that have landed, or crashed, on the surface of the Moon, with those that were successful having a full 3D representation. And, if exploring for oneself is too much of a hassle, there is a guided tour of the Apollo 11 landing site narrated by author Andrew Chaikin and Astronaut Buzz Aldrin himself.