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Chinese scientists have released a new geologic map of the moon. They say it is the world’s most detailed map of the moon’s surface to date. The mapping project took more than a hundred researchers 10 years to complete.

The mapping work used data from the Chang’e missions as the main source. It also used high-quality data from international exploration programmes. China started the Chang’e programme in 2004. Since then, the country has sent various landers and rovers (探测器) to the moon in order to collect data.

The new map was drawn at a scale of 1: 2, 500, 000. On this map, we can see 12, 341 impact craters (撞击坑), 81 impact basins (撞击盆地), 17 different rock types and 14 unique types of structures. The map also shows the locations of the leading sites of the Chang’e missions.

The most detailed map provides a lot of information about the geology of the moon and its evolution. It is expected to make a great contribution to scientific research. It can also help select the landing sites on the moon for future exploration missions.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has made a number of regional maps of the moon with data from the Apollo missions. However, those maps were completed at different times with different levels of quality. So they were not able to be directly used together. The Apollo programme succeeded in preparing and landing the first humans on the moon between the years of 1968 and 1972.

“The USGS did put its regional maps together to complete a 1:5 million-scale map in 2020,” said the researchers. “That map, however, is less detailed in comparison to China’s 1: 2.5 million scale map.”