USGS Unveils Stunning Geological Map Of The Moon
Language
Reading Level
Listen to Article
NASA's ambitious plans to land humans on the Moon by 2024 just got one step closer to becoming a reality thanks to the first comprehensive map of our satellite's surface. Unveiled on April 23, 2020, the colorful 1:5,000,000-scale "Unified Geologic Map of the Moon" is the result of decades of painstaking work by scientists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), NASA, and the Lunar and Planetary Institute.
"People have always been fascinated by the moon and when we might return," said current USGS Director and former NASA astronaut Jim Reilly. "So, it's wonderful to see USGS create a resource that can help NASA with their planning for future missions."
To create the digital map, the researchers drew upon information from the localized maps made during the six Apollo manned missions, as well as more recent data collected by satellite lunar missions. These include stereo observations of the Moon's equatorial region by the Terrain Camera on the recent SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) mission led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, as well as the topography data of the Moon's north and south poles obtained by NASA's Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter.
The cartographers began by redrawing the historical maps and aligning them with the current updated information. This allowed them to preserve previous observations and interpretations. Once the data had been merged, the USGS researchers created a consistent description of the various rocks, craters, and other exciting geological features that adorn our 4.5 billion-year-old satellite. This helped streamline the conflicting rock names, descriptions, and ages outlined in the various area maps created over the years. Each geological feature was carefully color-coded to enable scientists to easily recognize similar topography. For example, the bright pink covering a large area of the map represents the impact craters that give the Moon its distinct pockmarked appearance. They are believed to have been created by asteroids that hit the lunar surface during the Imbrian era, some 3.5 billion years ago.
The USGS researchers believe that in addition to being an essential blueprint for NASA astronauts, the lunar map will also prove invaluable for the international scientific community, educators, and the public-at-large.
Resources: www.usgs.gov,cnet.com
Get the Workbook for this article!
Workbook contains: Article, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking Questions, Vocabulary in Context (+ answers), Multiple Choice Quiz (+ answers), Parts of Speech Quiz (+ answers), Vocabulary Game (+ answers)Cite Article
Learn Keywords in this Article
88 Comments
adroit_avimimusabout 2 yearsThat is a pretty cool color palette! I'm a pretty space-y person, so this would be a super cool case!! Or background!
helenp1093over 3 yearsI want the pattern for my chromebook!
godlove333over 4 yearsI love that pattern and I want it on my phone case! like if u agree
vavadegover 4 yearsBefore i read the title i thought the moon had changed color
zerotwo02over 4 yearsTrue fact: Did you know that 50 moons can fit inside the earth?
n0st4lgi4over 1 yeari actually didn't know that! so cool!
maria_goodvibesalmost 4 yearsYea i knew that it's so cool right?
aarowaabout 4 yearsYeah it's super cool
neverkidover 4 years2024? How come it took them so long? The last moon flight was literally ages ago!
belle10over 4 yearsI KNOW MORE LIKE....................... 3036! LOL BUT TRUE YEAH YOU'RE RIGHT 😀
abby5over 4 yearsSo cool ! I love space🌍
adriannathebestover 4 yearsWoah.I have never seen anything more girly in my life
rattykidover 4 yearsLol thats what i said
ytg_raindropover 4 yearsWonder if i'll live on the moon or mars ( guess i'll kind of have to in 10 years)
hsroaover 4 yearsThat's huge
