On Monday, Google Inc. expanded its galactic reach by launching Google
Mars, a Web browser-based mapping tool that gives users an up-close,
interactive view of the red planet with the click of a mouse.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- First there was Google Earth, then
Google Moon.

On Monday, Google Inc. expanded its galactic reach by launching Google
Mars, a Web browser-based mapping tool that gives users an up-close,
interactive view of the red planet with the click of a mouse.

The Martian maps were made from images taken by NASA's orbiting Mars
Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor.

Google Mars doesn't provide driving directions, but users can see the
planet in three different formats: The Martian elevation map is
color-coded by altitude; the visible-imagery map shows the surface in
black-and-white pictures; the infrared map indicates temperature, with
cooler areas dark and warmer areas bright.

Users can also zoom in on any of the three maps to view geographical
features such as mountains, canyons, dunes and craters. The maps also
pinpoint the locations of unmanned space probes that have landed on
Mars.

The up-to-date maps even include the locations of the NASA rovers
Spirit and Opportunity, which have been exploring opposite ends of the
planet since 2004, said Phil Christensen, an Arizona State University
planetary geologist who operates an infrared camera on the Mars
Odyssey. Arizona State partnered with Google to create the maps.

While countless Mars images are already available on the Internet --
mostly through NASA's Mars mission Web sites -- the developers of
Google Mars said this is the first time that members of the public can
explore Mars on their own.

"The idea is to look at Mars and not think of it as a mysterious alien
place," Christensen said.