On the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing by Neil Armstrong, Google adds imagery of the moon to its 3-D mapping service. Google Earth no allows users to see the lunar service from a bird’s-eye view, opening up the crater and gray plains to the public. Users can also zoom in, look at specific features, [...]
On the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing by Neil Armstrong, Google adds imagery of the moon to its 3-D mapping service. Google Earth no allows users to see the lunar service from a bird’s-eye view, opening up the crater and gray plains to the public. Users can also zoom in, look at specific features, and even get detailed views of the area where the astronauts touched down and drove the rovers in the lunar dust.
The new release is an addition to the already large archive of space imagery available for free on Google Earth. The previous release was the Mars images, along with the ability to look at the universe from the perspective of a high-powered telescope.
While Google Earth is not a money maker for Google, it is an integral part of the maps division making it an important
Google Earth Moon View
asset for the company. The tool also allows users to gain insight into the lunar surface and the space mission to it by highlighting the craters, landings, and pictures and video tours. This allows the public to understand the historic moment much better, and view it from the point of view of an astronaut.
However, due to a lack of high resolution images, it is only possible for users to view certain locations in detail and zoom in as you would in Google Earth. Despite the limited view, the new images are certainly a few steps ahead of the previous limited Web-based map of the moon that was released by Google in 2005.
This project was developed with collaboration from NASA as well as the Japanese space agency. Also present at the launch was the first female space tourist, Anousheh Ansari, who said that the tool would be instrumental in helping people learn more about space.
“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,” she explains. “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.”
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