Google Celebrates Apollo 11 Moon Landing 50th Anniversary With AR Command Module Tour

Leading up the actual anniversary, Google is paying homage to Apollo 11 starting with a new augmented reality (AR) experience. In order to join in on the action, you will need to have an AR-capable smartphone in your possession and search for “Apollo 11” in Google Search. From there, you should see an option in the Knowledge Panel to view a model of the Apollo 11 command module in 3D.

You’ll be able to spin the 3D recreation around, and zoom in/inspect it up close from all angles. The AR part comes into play with a feature that allows you to drop a “life size” model of the command module right in your living room or work conference room so that you can get a true idea of the scale of the historic space vehicle.

“When astronauts set foot on the Moon 50 years ago, it was a technological triumph that sparked curiosity across the globe. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins inspired us to learn more about space and life here on Earth,” writes Ben Gomes, Google SCP for Search, News and the Google Assistant. “A similar spirit of curiosity and exploration has always been core to Google, with our mission to make the universe of knowledge accessible to people around the world.”

This is just the first of Google’s efforts to bring artifacts from Apollo 11 to life for the general populous to experience. In the coming weeks, you’ll be able to examine Armstrong’s spacesuit and other objects and tools used on lunar excursions. In addition, Google has curated 20 visual stories that augment the Apollo mission, giving you deeper insight into the men and women that were instrumental in helping make the Apollo 11 mission possible.

Google says that that Apollo 11 command module AR experience will go live today (we don’t currently see it available, unfortunately), and will be supported on both Android and iOS devices.