Data from 50 years
Records from 5 decades of lunar research were processed for the new map. The team used data from unmanned missions in the recent past as well as data from the Apollo missions. The data collected by the Japanese space agency with the Kaguya probe was also particularly valuable. Topographic information from the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was also used.
A new, unified method was also used for the map to categorize the rock surfaces of the moon.
“People have always been fascinated by the moon and wondered when we could go back there,” said Jim Reilly, former NASA astronaut and current director of USGS. The next manned mission to the moon is part of the Artemis 2024 project planned.
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