The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS from the Chinese Academy of Sciences) published the (geological) maps of the Moon with the highest resolution to date.
The Geologic Atlas of the Lunar Globe, which took more than 100 researchers over a decade to compile, reveals a total of 12.341 craters, 81 basins and 17 rock types, along with other key geological information about the lunar surface.
The maps were made at the unprecedented scale of 1:2.500.000.
CAS also released a book entitled Map Quadrangles of the Geologic Atlas of the Moon, which includes 30 field diagrams that together form a depiction of the entire Moon.
China will use the maps to support its lunar ambitions and Liu he says that the maps will also be beneficial to other countries as they prepare their own missions to the Moon.
Three spacecraft have been launched toward the Moon so far this year, and in May, China plans to send a craft to collect rocks from the dark side of the Moon.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01223-0
