--- title: "China Publishes the Most Detailed Map of the Moon Ever Made" description: "China has created a map of the Moon's surface more detailed, and at a greater scale, than any single map that came before it." date: "2022-06-10" modified: "2022-06-10" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-detailed-moon-map" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" tags: - "Lunar" - "lunar surface" - "map" - "the digest" - "the moon" --- # China Publishes the Most Detailed Map of the Moon Ever Made ![China has created a map of the Moon's surface more detailed, and at a greater scale, than any single map that came before it.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Singular Focus There's now a map of the Moon's surface more detailed than any that came before it. Published in [the journal *Science Bulletin*](), researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the country's Institute of Geochemistry, and other organizations compiled known information about the Moon's surface in a recent study that includes this wildly-detailed map of the lunar terrain. As the study notes, the scale of the map is an incredibly precise 1:2,500,000 scale that highlights all known rocks, craters, basins, and structures on the Moon's surface. ![]() *Image via Science Bulletin/ResearchGate* ## Minutiae Though this is far from the first lunar map, it is the researchers behind it say it's the most detailed yet. To get there, they sifted through lunar geology data from the better part of the last century to achieve the map's stunning scale, featuring a total of 90 different types of structures highlighted on its color-coded key. As the researchers note, there are partial maps of the lunar surface that are double the scale of this one (eg, [ones that are 1:5,000,000]()), but this map is the first to date that logs the entire surface of the Moon at such a high scale. Even as the US, China, and Russia are engaged in a three-way [space race amid political tensions](), this map — which was built using lunar surface data from all three countries and some from others as well — serves as a testament to the unifying power of science. That, and to how freaking far we've come in lunar studies. **READ MORE:** [The 1:2,500,000-scale geologic map of the global moon]() \[*Science Bulletin*\] **More on the Moon:** [*NASA Says It's a Priority to Investigate Strange Domes on the Moon*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()