Context

China has released a new geological map of the moon, which it says is the most detailed to date, registering even finer details of the lunar surface than mapped by the US in 2020.

About

About the new map:

• China has released a new comprehensive geologic map of the moon to a scale of 1:2500000, the most detailed to date.
• The map includes 12,341 impact craters, 81 impact basins, 17 rock types and 14 types of structures, providing abundant information about geology of the moon and its evolution.
• The new map was first published in a Chinese science journal called the Science Bulletin.
• It is expected to make a great contribution to scientific research, exploration and landing site selection on the moon.
  

China and Moon:

• In January 2019, China’s Chang'e-4 probe landed on the far side of the moon, making it the first spacecraft to touch down on the part of the moon, which is never visible from earth.
• In December 2020, China’s Chang’e-5 mission has returned to Earth with the cargo of rock and “soil” it collected from the lunar surface.
• China plans to send a crewed mission to the moon in 2030.