The new Google Earth lacks some important tools for researchers

The world is right in the palm of your smartphone-holding hand. Google Earth rolled out a new version of its venerable globe this week, first for Chrome and Android, and later for other browsers and iOS. It is a gentler, lighter Google Earth, a slicked-down tool for exploring and sharing beautiful snippets of the world. Unfortunately, it’s also missing all the niche features that Google Earth an invaluable tool for reporters and investigators across the world for over a decade.

“I first started using Google Earth when it launched and I was a researcher in Seoul,” said Melissa Hanham, who now works as a researcher at the James Martin Center for nonproliferation studies. “At the time I heard about a location where North Korea had launched a missile, and all I knew was it was near a town of Musudan Ri. So I opened Google Earth, I found the town, and just started searching all around until I found the missile pad, and that’s when I became a Google Earth evangelist.”

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