Scientists claim to have created Moon's most detailed map ever after 10 yrs of research

A team of scientists from China has created what they claim is the most detailed map of the Moon ever. The map was published in a study in the peer-reviewed journal Science Bulletin and was developed under a project that started in 2012 and involved more than a hundred scientists. According to the study, the lunar map reveals the composition and structure of the lunar surface, including craters, basins and rocks and claims to reveal more about the Moon's evolution over millions of years. 

How was the lunar map created?

The map is the result of a collective effort by scientists from the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Geological Science, the China University of Geosciences and Shandong University. The experts of this study revealed that they created the map using all the data gathered so far by the Chinese orbiters, landers and rovers around and on the lunar surface. However, the scientists also used the data collected during the missions sent to the Moon by countries such as Russia, the US and others. What resulted is a 1:2.5 million-scale map that precisely locates every known rock, crater, basin, and structure scattered across the lunar surface. 

The experts noted in their study that the map constitutes 12,341 craters, along with 81 impact basins, 17 types of rocks and 14 types of surface structures. A report by the South China Morning Post revealed that the mapping project was initiated ten years ago by geologists Ouyang Ziyuan and Liu Jianzhong from the Institute of Geochemistry. Earlier in 2020, Jianzhong and his team had prepared another lunar map but said that that was not as precise as the latest one. 

"Geologic maps of the Moon provide comprehensive information about the geologic strata, structural features, lithologies, and chronology of the lunar crustal surface, which reflect the evolution of lunar crust under igneous processes, catastrophic impacts, and volcanic activities", the scientists wrote in their paper.