Scientists have created a new, high-resolution map of the moon using data from China’s recent missions to the moon.
The detailed map was mainly created from data from Chinese lunar exploration program It has been collected over the past 15 years and supplemented with high quality data from international exploration missions from the United States, Japan and India.
It shows the geological strata, structural features and chronology of the moonIts surface includes 12,341 archaeological craters, 81 impact basins, 17 rock types, and 14 types of structures.
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The map reflects “the evolution of the lunar crust under magmatic processes, catastrophic impacts and volcanic activity,” the research team wrote in a paper accepted for publication in the journal. science bulletin (Opens in a new tab).
The map uses the Mollweide projection, which produces an elliptical view of the moon; China also provided stereoscopic projections centered separately on the North and South Poles. Researchers can use the new work to map the lunar geology and choose a landing site for future missions.
The full-size map is available from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. National Space Research Center (Opens in a new tab).
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