Space is full of stars. There are also planets, comets, and black holes. Yet one object is our nearest neighbor. It’s the Moon! For years, people have studied our only moon. Now scientists have made its most detailed map!
This map shows both sides of the Moon. It includes features like and hills. This map shows more than that. It displays the types of rocks and what they’re made of. It even shows their age!
For example, pink and red show lava flows. Those are the dark spots on the Moon that we see from Earth. The yellow craters are the youngest. Gray craters are older. Rocks crashing into the Moon’s surface caused those craters. Some are 4 billion years old!
Many scientists created this map. Some came from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). They used information from many missions. The group used the data from the first trips to the Moon in the 1960s and from recent visits. The map is called the “Unified Geologic Map of the Moon.”
James Skinner works at the USGS in Flagstaff, Arizona. He said this unified map makes it easier for scientists to study the Moon. “It is like having a new dictionary that everyone can use,” he explained. “It ensures we all speak the same language about the lunar surface.”
The map is huge. So it shows many details. “That map is excellent for scientists to figure out what areas of the Moon to investigate,” said Skinner, “and perhaps visit.”
Yes, this map may help astronauts explore the Moon. USGS director and former astronaut Jim Reilly knows this. “People have always been by the Moon,” he said, “and when we might return.” Reilly said the map “can help planning for future missions.”
Updated April 29, 2020, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
