Google has announced the addition of 3D images of the moon to its Google Earth offering to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the first moon landings.
The interactive atlas is available in Google Earth 5.0 and was announced at an event in Washington DC with Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
Users can utilise the Moon in Google Earth feature to travel around a virtual representation of the moon's terrain and follow guided tours from Aldrin and Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt.
They can also view panoramic photos in the style of Street View, see unreleased footage from the moon's surface and find out about the various artefacts left by human moon explorers over the last few decades.
"Forty years ago, two human beings walked on the moon. Starting today, with Moon in Google Earth, it's now possible for anyone to follow in their footsteps," says Michael Weiss-Malik, Moon in Google Earth product manager.
The content for the service was able to be used by Google as a result of an ongoing agreement under the Space Act with Nasa.
Writing in a post for the Official Google Blog, Anousheh Ansari, the first female private space tourist, calls Moon in Google Earth "a critical step into the future" and a way through which young people's dreams can be developed.
