The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has released the highest resolution geological maps of the Moon to date. The Geological Atlas of the Moon Globe, which was produced by more than 100 researchers over the course of a decade, shows a total of 12,341 craters. 81 basins and 17 rock types, as well as other fundamental geological data on the lunar surface. The maps were produced at an unprecedented scale of 1:2,500,000.
“Any geology query starts with a geological map,” says Ross Mitchell, a geophysicist at the CAS Institute of Geology and Geophysics in Beijing. The new lunar atlas is “really a resource for everybody,” he says.
The SAC has also published an e-book called Map Quadrangles of the Geological Atlas of the Moon, which comprises 30 pie charts that, in combination, shape a visualization of the entire Moon.
Jianzhong Liu, a geochemist at the Guiyang Institute of Geochemistry (CAS) and co-director of the project, says existing lunar maps date back to the 1960s and 1970s. “Since then, our knowledge of the Moon has become dramatically complex, and those maps may no longer meet the requirements of long-term lunar studies and exploration. “
China will use the maps for its lunar ambitions, and Liu says the maps will gain advantages for other countries as they adopt their own lunar missions. So far this year, three spacecraft have been introduced to the moon, and in May, China intends to send a spacecraft to collect rocks on the far side of the moon.
With the updated atlas, scientists will be able to better understand the history of the Moon, assess potential lunar resources, and conduct comparative geological studies. It will also indicate the location of possible options for long-term missions, adding where to build lunar surveys. base, Liu said.
Carolyn van der Bogert, a planetary geologist at the University of Münster in Germany, says she is inspired by the number of paintings her Chinese colleagues have put in to compile the new atlas.
“We’re looking forward to being able to interact with the map in wonderful detail,” he says.
The atlas, available in Chinese and English, is an evolution of China’s lunar exploration program, in particular the Chang’e-1 mission, which examined the lunar surface from orbit between 2007 and 2009, according to Liu. -1’s camera observed lunar topography and geological structures, while its interference imaging spectrometer played a key role in identifying other rock types.
Observations made on the surface of the Moon via the Chang’e-3 and Chang’e-4 lander missions in 2013 and 2019 respectively verified the accuracy of Chang’e-1’s knowledge. The Atlas team also used knowledge from missions such as the Interior and Gravity Recovery Laboratory (GRAIL) and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, either introduced through NASA, such as India’s Chandrayaan-1 probe. “Some of the sightings were very complementary to the Chang’e missions. For example, GRAIL’s knowledge helped identify all the deep fractures on the lunar surface,” says Liu.
Chinese researchers began compiling the maps in 2012 as they searched for the next targets to explore the moon. In partnership with Russia and more than a dozen other countries and organizations, China is leading the structure of the International Lunar Research Station, which is expected to take shape in the mid-2030s at the moon’s south pole for clinical exploration and resource exploitation.
“Contributing to lunar science is an important step for China to assert its potential role as a clinical force in the coming decades,” Mitchell says.
Liu says his team has already started working on the map solution and will produce more accurate regional maps based on clinical and technical needs. In the meantime, the finished atlas has been incorporated into a cloud platform called Digital Moon and will eventually be available to the foreign study community.
It’s me: https://doi. org/10. 1038/d41586-024-01223-0
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