June 8, 2022 (EIRNS)–China has released the most detailed geological map of the Moon, a project which has been the lifelong goal of geochemist Ouyang Ziyuan, the inspiration for, and the chief designer of, the Chinese Chang’e program. Decades before China made the decision to launch a manned space program with an eye on the Moon, Ouyang was gathering data from previous lunar missions of both the U.S. and Russia.

The map is on a scale of 1:2,500.000. Based on the data of China’s Chang’e Project, and making full use of other international lunar exploration data and research results, through the study of the “strata,” morphology, composition, structure and geological age of the lunar surface, a new lunar geological chronology is being proposed.”

“The newly compiled map,” CCTV notes, “updates the Moon’s geological chronology based on a better understanding of the history of the lunar surface which has been categorized into three epochs and six periods. That trio of epochs have been classified as the early stage, dominated by internal geological activities, the middle stage which features both internal and external geological forces, and the late stage which has mainly external forces such as asteroid strikes shaping the Moon’s surface.”