Most Detailed Lunar Map Completed

An international team of scientists lead by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan have completed the most detailed map of the Moon ever produced.

Using the laser altimeter on board the Japanese Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE) satellite, the Moon's surface was mapped at an unprecedented 15-km resolution from pole to pole, including its dark side. New craters were discovered and the stiffness of the crust was calculated from the roughness of the lunar surface. The stiffness of the crust is a measure of subsurface water, and the Moon's surface was revealed to be too stiff to contain any liquid water, even deep within the crust.

Previous maps of the Moon include those of the 1970's Apollo program as well as the unmanned 1994 Clementine mission. Clementine offered a resolution between 20 and 60 km, and did not map the complete surface. The SELENE satellite map will serve as a guide for future lunar exploration, such as the search for mineral resources.

This map was published in the February 13th issue of Science.

Source: ScienceDaily