Google on Monday marked the 40th anniversary of the first human footsteps on the moon by adding virtual lunar exploration to its free online Earth map and imagery service.
The moon joins Earth, Mars, and Sky in an options list in an upper tool bar on the main Web page at earth.google.com. Aspiring lunar explorers will need Google Earth 5.0 software, which can be downloaded free.
Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin joined Google, X Prize Foundation, and NASA officials in Washington, DC, for the launch of Moon in Google Earth. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Aldrin on July 20, 1969 became the first men to walk on the moon.
Moon in Google Earth meshes "Street View" style panoramic photographs and NASA video taken on the surface of the moon to create a virtual moonscape. Apollo program astronauts Jack Schmitt and Aldrin provided narration for online lunar tours.
Moon incorporates images taken during Apollo missions and pictures from satellites. Along with tours of the moon’s surface, Google Earth’s new feature shows "human artifacts" left there by space missions.
The center is near Mountain View, California-based Google and has been collaborating with the Internet titan under the auspices of a Space Act Agreement signed in late 2006.
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum has recreated humanity’s first trip to the moon online at wechoosethemoon.org to enthrall an Internet generation not yet born when the US mission made history 40 years ago.