Astrogeologists from the US Geological Survey (USGS) have joined hands with the NASA and the Lunar Planetary Institute to create a detailed new map of the moon’s terrain—called the "Unified Geologic Map of the Moon—that would serve as the definitive blueprint of the moon's surface geology for future human missions.
This is for the first time that the entire lunar surface has been completely mapped and uniformly classified.
The digital map, showing the moon’s geology in incredible details (1:5,000,000 scale), is available online now, and will be of invaluable help to the international scientific community, educators and the public-at-large.
"People have always been fascinated by the moon and when we might return," said current USGS Director and former NASA astronaut Jim Reilly. "So, it's wonderful to see USGS create a resource that can help NASA with their planning for future missions."
To create the new digital map, scientists used information from six Apollo-era regional maps along with updated information from recent satellite missions to the moon. The existing historical maps were redrawn to align them with the modern data sets, thus preserving previous observations and interpretations.
Along with merging new and old data, USGS researchers also developed a unified description of the stratigraphy, or rock layers, of the moon. This resolved issues from previous maps where rock names, descriptions and ages were sometimes inconsistent.
"This map is a culmination of a decades-long project," said Corey Fortezzo, USGS geologist and lead author of the study published by the Lunar and Planetary Institute. "It provides vital information for new scientific studies by connecting the exploration of specific sites on the moon with the rest of the lunar surface."
Elevation data for the moon's equatorial region came from stereo observations collected by the Terrain Camera on the recent SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) mission led by JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Topography for the north and south poles was supplemented with NASA's Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter data.
