China Releases First Detailed Atlas Of Moon
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26 April 2024
China has released the world's first "geologic atlas" of the entire moon, the first major update since the Apollo-era programmes
Image: cas.cn
According to Nature magazine, it took more than 100 researchers over a decade to compile the high-definition atlas
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The maps reveal a total of 12,341 craters, 81 basins and 17 rock types, along with other basic geological information about the lunar surface
Image: X/@Kanthan2030
The maps were made at the unprecedented scale of 1:2,500,000, the outlet further said
Image: cas.cn
The Chinese Academy of Sciences said that these maps will provide up-to-date scientific references for future lunar research and exploration
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The academy further said that the atlas has been integrated into the digital lunar cloud platform built by Chinese scientists
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It will help in selecting landing sites, resource exploration and path planning for future moon missions
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In May this year, China intends to send a craft to collect rocks from the moon's far side
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The atlas used the data from China's lunar exploration programme, especially the Chang'e-1 mission
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Later, observations made by the Chang'e-3 and Chang'e-4 lander missions helped verify the accuracy of Chang'e-1 data
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