NASA, USGS Release New Map of the Moon to Serve as Blueprint for Further Missions

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has now released a comprehensive and more detailed map of the moon in association with the Lunar Planetary Institute and NASA. The new map, according to USGS, will serve as a blueprint that can help navigate and guide future missions to the moon.

The map will be available online as a repository for assisting researchers, students, scientists, and to the general public. And yes, this a proper map of the whole satellite!

Last year, NASA had announced that they would once again begin sending people to the moon in the upcoming years. and releasing the map might be seen as a preliminary step for the same. The USGS says that the map is the product of a project that has been in the works for decades.

A report quoted a USGS geologist who said that the map provides crucial information about the surface of the moon and could also help in further exploratory missions.

The map is extremely detailed and specific and uses colours to demarcate between eras. For instance, the Imbrian era formation, when the moon surface was hit by asteroids, has been marked in pink. The USGS has also managed to demarcate the layers of rocks forming the moon surface to grasp better understanding of the satellite.