China releases world's most detailed moon atlas (video)

By Andrew Jones published 15 hours ago

The atlas, which is available in Chinese and English, depicts the surface of the moon with a scale of 1:2.5 million. It highlights many intriguing geological features, such as impact craters.

"The first thing that catches our eye are those rings, which we call the ring structure. In fact, each of these rings represents an impact event. The small ring is called an impact crater," Liu Jianzhong, a senior researcher at the Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGCCAS), told China Central Television (CCTV).

"The big one right here is called an impact basin, which has a diameter of over 200 kilometers [125 miles]," Liu added. "Age groups are divided by colors. For example, the purple ones are the oldest impact craters."



a rover on the surface of the moonChina's Yutu 2 rover, as seen by the Chang'e 4 lander, on the far side of the moon. (Image credit: CNSA)

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China plans to build a lunar base, known as the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), in the 2030s. It aims to put its first astronauts on the moon before 2030.

More:
https://www.space.com/china-hi-def-geologic-moon-atlas-video