Explore NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with Google Street View

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It’s time to get excited about NASA again! Yes, with Curiosity hopefully landing safe and sound on the surface of Mars early Monday morning, people are once again talking about space travel.

Before getting images back from Curiosity, you can get your space fix by exploring NASA’s Kennedy Space Center via Google Street View.

(MORE: Antarctica and More: How Google Grabs Panoramic Street View Imagery)

This is where humans have been blasting off into space for the last 50 years, and Google has the place covered with 6,000 images. It’s the largest special collection of Street View imagery Google has ever put together.

So, what is there to see? You can chill at the top of the launch pad, check out massive space shuttle engines and gaze up at the ceiling of the Vehicle Assembly Building, which, as Google notes on its blog, is taller than the Statue of Liberty.

Sadly, NASA isn’t planning on sending astronauts into space anytime soon; it ended its space shuttle program last July, when Atlantis safely touched down at the Kennedy Space Center. The United States currently partners with Russia to send astronauts up in Soyuz rockets.

While Curiosity might temporarily drum up interest in space exploration, none other than astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson believes only one thing will lead to a resurgence in America’s space program — sending humans to Mars.

Hmm, I think I have an idea where Google should do its next Street View collection…

MORE: Neil deGrasse Tyson on the Future of U.S. Space Exploration