BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese research team has completed an updated geologic map of the entire Moon on a scale of 1:5 million, said the Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences on Thursday.
The main map, about 280 cm long and 120 cm high, comes with inset geologic maps of the Moon's polar regions. It precisely marks over 13,000 impact craters and 81 impact basins, and delineates 14 types of geological structures and 17 types of rocks.
Drawing on the latest findings from China's Chang'e lunar exploration program and other lunar research, the map introduces systematic updates to the lunar geological time scale, lunar material classification and the cartographic presentation of geologic features.
The team revised the lunar geological time scale, setting the beginnings of the Aitkenian, Nectarian and Imbrian periods at 4.33 billion, 4.17 billion and 3.92 billion years ago, respectively. For the first time globally, the map provides a finer subdivision of stratigraphic units representing the later stages of the Moon's geologic history.
The map also incorporates higher-resolution data showing the distribution of key minerals on the lunar surface and refines the rock classification system. Drawing on the latest findings from the Chang'e-4 and Chang'e-6 missions, it adds gabbronorite as a distinct rock type in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin.
For the 1:5 million scale, the team set different minimum mapping thresholds by feature category, preserving overall legibility without omitting geologic details of major scientific value.
China released the world's first geologic map of the Moon on a scale of 1:2,500,000 in 2022, and published the world's first complete high-definition lunar geologic atlas in 2024.
The new map provides scientific support for the construction of China's future lunar research station, landing site selection and deep-space exploration, said Yang Zhiming, director of the institute, adding that this represents a fresh Chinese contribution to humanity's exploration of the evolution of the solar system. ■
