Mid-Autumn Festival reunion with family to enjoy the moon, why not have an unprecedented high-definition moon "photo album"? With the rapid development of science and technology, especially the advancement of lunar exploration missions, we have a deeper understanding of the details of the lunar surface.
The high-definition lunar "photo album" we mentioned today is the world's first high-precision (1:2.5 million) lunar geological atlas released by the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in April this year. It is currently the most accurate geological "photo book" of the whole month.
▲The world's first set of high-precision (1:2.5 million) lunar geological atlas
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How high is the "photo album"?
A geological map of the Moon is a map that shows the geological features of the Moon in detail.
For a long time, the international use of lunar geological maps is mainly based on data and information obtained by the United States Apollo program. With the acceleration of the development of international research on lunar exploration, these lunar geological maps have lagged behind significantly. Among these geological maps, only the local map has a high accuracy, and the scale accuracy covering the whole month is only 1:5 million, and the drawing age is relatively early, and the latest research results of human beings in recent decades have not been fully reflected.
▲The scene of the press conference for the official release of the world's first high-precision (1:2.5 million) lunar geological atlas
In view of this, the compilation and research team composed of researchers from the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jilin University, Shandong University and other units has "sharpened a sword for more than ten years", based on the overall and regular understanding of the origin and evolution process of the moon, based on the scientific exploration data of the Chang'e project on the mainland, and with reference to the existing exploration data and research results at home and abroad, the technical specifications and standards for the geological mapping of the moon with independent intellectual property rights have been established, and this set of "photo albums" has been drawn, including a geological map of the whole moon (main map), A map of the distribution of rock types throughout the moon, a compendium map of the structure of the moon and 30 geological maps of the moon with standard tiles.
The scale of the lunar geological map of 1:2.5 million means that for every 1 centimeter on the map, the actual distance is 2.5 million centimeters, that is, 25 kilometers.
▲The Lunar Geological Atlas provides valuable information for future lunar exploration and resource development
With such detailed maps, scientists can get a clear picture of the geological formations, rock types, and geomorphological features of the moon's surface. This map is not only valuable for scientific research, but also provides valuable information for future lunar exploration and resource development.
So, why do Chinese scientists gather the research results of the world to draw such a set of "geological photo albums"? To answer this question, we must first know what exactly is drawn on the diagram.
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What's in the "Photo Album"?
The geological map of the Moon is a comprehensive map that integrates the study of the lunar morphology, material composition, tectonic evolution and formation history.
In the process of compiling the geological map of the whole moon, according to the dynamic evolution process and characteristics of the moon, the rock construction of external dynamic geological processes (impact craters and crater materials of different ages, basins and basin construction of different ages), the rock construction of internal dynamic geological processes (17 rock types) and 14 structural types were expressed, and the geological and evolution processes and results of the moon were comprehensively expressed.
In this atlas, we can see a total of 12,341 impact craters and 81 impact basins in the whole month, and we can understand the impact history of the moon through color.
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The "photo album" tells the geological evolution of the moon
In this collection of lunar geological atlases, the lunar history is divided into three epochs, namely the Lunas (Magma Oceanic), the Paleolunar (Eikhn, Jiuhai and Yuhai) and the Crescent (Eratosian and Copernican), which correspond to the stages of internal dynamic geology, the stage of equal emphasis on internal and external dynamic geology, and the stage of exodynamic geology. The different stages of the Moon's evolution are accompanied by different stresses, forming linear and annular structures of different types and scales.
▲The lunar geological age division scheme of the "Three Epochs and Six Periods".
This set of high-precision lunar geological maps can not only provide basic data and scientific reference for the formulation of scientific objectives and the implementation of lunar exploration projects, but also fill the gap in the compilation and research of geological maps of the moon and extraterrestrial planets, and make China's contribution to the study of the origin and evolution of the moon and the evolution of the solar system.
Researchers are already planning to compile a higher-precision geological map of the moon and a geological map of Mars to meet the needs of the geological evolution of Mars, and to advance towards the "sea of stars in the solar system" that human beings are currently able to reach. Source: Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Editor-in-charge: Song Tongzhou