Google to mark 50th year of Apollo 11 mission with AR

Ahead of the upcoming 50th anniversary of mankind`s first successful trip to the moon, Google has recreated the Apollo 11 rocket`s command module with Augmented Reality (AR). On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 was launched into space and on July 20, it landed the first two humans on the Moon -- Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module Eagle`s pilot Buzz Aldrin.  To celebrate the milestone, when users would Google search Apollo 11 on an AR-enabled device, they would see an AR option in the Knowledge Panel and tapping on it would let users explore a 3D recreation of the command module, Engadget reported on Wednesday.

According to Google, this is the first time it has added a cultural artefact in AR feature on Search, which debuted in May. The search-engine giant has teamed up with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for this project. As part of Google`s initiative, users would get to explore 20 new stories about lesser-known aspects of the mission and the people who contributed to it, the report added. More features such as moon- and space-related tours and quizzes on Google Earth have also been lined up from July 15.

In a different report, Engadget said that Denmark-based toy company Lego is also marking the historic day with NASA Apollo 11 lunar lander set that would cost $100. Designed with inputs from NASA itself, the 1,087-piece kit would come with a pair of astronaut figures representing Armstrong and Aldrin.