T-Minus 10 Days 'Til Google Moon Map Liftoff

Just in case you need directions the next time you visit the moon, Google will be there to help you.

Moon man Buzz Aldrin will help Google unveil a new moon map feature on the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, according to Internet chatter.

While the search engine giant hasn't confirmed it, the company has sent out invites to the press for a July 20th conference in Washington, D.C., hinting at a liftoff.

"Since its launch in 2005, Google Earth has enabled hundreds of millions of people to better understand the world around them. With the power of satellite imagery and expert content, educators, scientists, astronomers, and armchair-geographers have explored the Earth, its oceans, the sky, and even Mars in entirely new ways." The new functionality will reportedly allow Google's four-year old Moon site to be viewed using the Google Earth client.

In 2005, the company launched Google Moon, which features a picture of astronaut Buzz Aldrin climbing down to the lunar surface during Apollo 11 on the 36th anniversary of Apollo 11.

Currently, there are four different types of data on Google Moon that is provided by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, Universities Space Research Association, and The Lunar and Planetary Institute.

The buzz on the Web about the new feature has been met mostly with excitement, but has also been met with cynics.

As one poster on Google's blog wrote:

"This is the day when Google purchases the real earth?"

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