Google has announced an update for its Google Mars virtual tool, which contains new features to give users a better sense of knowledge on the Red Planet. Aside from being able to see the planet in 3D, users will now also be able to see how the study of the planet evolved in time, and the changes in perspective over the last century of astronomy.

Users will be able to see how maps of the Red Planet have evolved, from those envisioned by Giovanni Schiaparelli, Percival Lowell and others, to what we know today of Mars. Furthermore, they will be able to get the latest NASA images of Mars from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft’s perspective, almost as soon as they are downloaded.

Google Mars has now taken a lot of Google Earth, completely transforming the experience, and making it much more complex. Google has included in Google Mars updates imagery from NASA and ESA, and well as an improved search function for the best-known locations of Mars, including its famous canyon, Valles Marineris, its tallest volcano, Olympus Mons, and the well-known Face on Mars.

Furthermore, they can check out what the Mars rover have been, or are still, doing on the Red Planet, follow their paths and see high-resolution images of the places the rovers visited.

Google Mars is part of Google’s latest release of Google Earth, version 5.0, which includes new exciting features, and the possibility to study anything from space (through Google Mars) to the ocean floor (users can get a 3D picture of the sea floor, which includes underwater volcanoes and other aspects of the ocean depths).