NASA continues to prepare for new missions to be held for the Moon. The space agency, which wanted to send the first female astronaut to the Moon in 2024, also carried out a joint work to create the geological map of the Moon. The U.S. Geological Research Institute and NASA’s Moon and Planet Institute have prepared a map that shows the Moon’s surface features in a striking detail. In the statement made by NASA, it was said that the map that was created will be a guide for future Moon missions. Decades of Moon data were used to create the new map of the Moon. Many data were used up to the Moon data obtained in Apollo missions to create the new map called the “Combined Geological Map of the Moon.” In addition to the data obtained from 6 Apollo missions, the data obtained from the Kaguya mission made by the Japanese Space Agency between 2007 and 2009 to display the Moon was an important aid in the creation of the map. The new map of the Moon will be introduced at the 51st Moon and Planetary Science Conference. The United Geological Map of the Moon, on which the surface of the Moon full of craters is shown in different colors, was prepared on a scale of 1: 5.000.000. USGS Director Jim Reilly, who published a press release about the New Moon map, said, “It’s great to see USGS creating a resource that can help NASA plan future tasks.” The moon’s surface, similar to a flowerpot, acts as a historical record of the Earth’s satellite. In the new map created, different colors are used to show the history of the Moon, and geological formations and time periods are distinguished. The pinks of the Imbria period, which occurred about 3.5 billion years ago, dominate the New Moon map. During this period, the asteroids that hit the Moon enabled the craters we see today on the surface of the Moon.
