Geologic Atlas of the Lunar Globe (Scale 1 : 2,500,000)

About this book

Language: English

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has released the highest-resolution geological maps of the Moon yet. The Geologic Atlas of the Lunar Globe, which took more than 100 researchers over a decade to compile, reveals a total of 12,341 craters, 81 basins and 17 rock types, along with other basic geological information about the lunar surface. The maps were made at the unprecedented scale of 1:2,500,000.

Please note that this atlas consists of three very large fold-out maps that each come in 15 individual fold-out pieces, for a total of 45 individual pieces, stored in a large clamshell box (40 × 50 cm). Each group of 15 pieces forms a mosaic that, when put together, respectively makes up the geologic map, the lithographic map, and the tectonic map of the moon. Each individual fold-out piece measures 38.5 × 43.5 cm (W × H) when folded and 115 × 86.5 cm (W ×H) when unfolded. These 15 pieces are put together in a grid 5 pieces wide and 3 pieces high. Thus, when put together unfolded, each map measures approximately 5.75 × 2.60 m (W × H). The maps are printed on one side only. Next to an overview of the whole lunar globe on each map, there are smaller maps of the north and south polar regions in the top-hand corners and a legend and geologic time scale in the bottom-hand corners. A separate 93-page instruction booklet (18.4 × 26 cm) is included in the box. The box and its contents weigh approximately 8.3 kg.

Editor Liu Jianzhong has commented that "The world has witnessed significant progress in the field of lunar exploration and scientific research over the past decades, which have greatly improved our understanding of the moon. However, the lunar geologic maps published during the Apollo era have not been changed for about half a century, and are still being used for lunar geological research. With the improvements of lunar geologic studies, those old maps can no longer meet the needs of future scientific research and lunar exploration".

Additionally, the CAS has also released Map Quadrangles of the Geologic Atlas of the Moon, comprising 30 sector diagrams which together form a visualization of the whole Moon, which is separately available.

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