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NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission has released the first footage shot of the moon's far side.

The 30-second clip (after the jump) sweeps from the moon's northern pole to the southern polar region, passing, among other features, the Mare Orientale, a 560-mile wide dry sea that extends onto the side we can see from Earth.

Just in time to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing, Google has just enabled a model of the moon in Google Earth. Moon in Google Earth features a 3D model of the moon with both current and historic images, panoramic, street view-like photos, and models of numerous lunar landers, as well as guided tours with videos (one narrated by Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin). Google unveiled this new layer at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. today. Any user of Google Earth 5.0 can now roam around the moon without the need to update the program. Just click on the planet button in the top toolbar and select 'Moon.'