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[SKM1]

Scientists have created an extremely detalied geological map of the moon.

This new work represents a seamless, globally consistent, 1:5,000,000-scale geologic map derived from the six digitally renovated geologic maps (see Source Online Linkage below). The goal of this project was to create a digital resource for science research and analysis, future geologic mapping efforts, be it local-, regional-, or global-scale products, and as a resource for the educators and the public interested in lunar geology.

Unified Geologic Map of the Moon, 1:5M, 2020

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The moon presents a source of very rare materials and may inspire a "Lunar Gold Rush", as conjectured by Anton in his new video:

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He comments on many other interesting facts!

Another source:
Engadget: How NASA's new moon map will guide future manned missions

Now that NASA is planning new missions to the Moon with project Artemis, it needs the most detailed maps of our satellite ever produced. To that end, scientists from NASA, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Lunar Planetary Institute have created a detailed new mapin stunning color.
Called the Unified Geological Map of the Moon, it marries decades of surveys of the moon’s surface going as far back as Armstrong and Aldrin’s Apollo mission, with more recent data from NASA and JAXA. The digital map is available here for the public to download at 1:5,000,000 scale.

To create the maps, scientists took information from the six Apollo-era regional maps, and updated them with information from a number of later sources. The elevation data at the equatorial region came from observations by the Terrain Camera on the SELENE mission led by JAXA., while the north and south pole topography was captured by NASA’s Lunar Orbiter, using its Laser Altimeter data.

And here's the scaled down map: (Full size)

And an orthographic projection: (Full Size)

Are you prepared to go to the moon?

 

[buizel]

Are you prepared to go to the moon?

I'm preparing for a night inside Uranus

 

[Cunth]

id go to the moon. fuck this place.

 

[Karmic Raze]

If the moon is corona free then count me the hell in. Oxygen is optional.

 

[eot]

Made me think of this from Deus Ex

Mass Driver Accident Kills Over 2,000

APR - Ibadan, Nigeria

The historical first delivery of ore from the Zhou Enlai Lunar Mining Complex ended in tragedy today when a targeting error resulted in the payload slamming into the outskirts of the city of Ibadan in Nigeria. Thousands died in the initial blast that was compared to a small nuclear bomb as the payload impacted in a sparsely populated suburb, while thousands more were left disoriented, homeless, and without power or water in the wake of the explosion.

Chinese officials have halted all other deliveries from the Zhou Enlai Complex and are working with both the United Nations and officials from McMoran Global Steel to determine the cause of the error. McMoran Global Steel was responsible for the construction of the mass driver, winning the contract from Page Industries in a heated bidding war.

"Obviously we took the utmost precautions in building the Zhou Enlai driver," said spokesperson Sean Murphy. "But something has gone terribly wrong. Our only real response at this point is to offer our condolences and aid to the people of Ibadan, and insure that such an event never occurs again."

 

[EverydayBeast]

Good to know I could see Nasa or Space X revisiting the moon.

 

[buizel]

If the moon is corona free then count me the hell in. Oxygen is optional.

who knows what we'll find. maybe dancing squidwards

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

I want the gold, gimme the gold.

If they're paying for DNA-clones who will mine the moon for decades, sign me up. I wanna be in that Sam Rockwell movie.

 

[SKM1]

Made me think of this from Deus Ex

Yeah I was wondering about something along these lines. In any case, humanity's progress is paved in tragedies and it seems that we've been in a kind of safety bubble lately. Maybe that's what makes space exploration so thrilling. IDK

 

[JareBear: Remastered]

Watched Ad Astra a few days ago, and now this.

Ma, I’m really gonna be a moon pirate

 

[SKM1]

Watched Ad Astra a few days ago, and now this.

Ma, I’m really gonna be a moon pirate

In the future you'll see Africans trying to make spaceships from scrape materials

 

[caffeware]

Cant wait for mankind to step on the moon for the first time.

 

[LegendOfKage]

*old-timey prospector voice* Thars gold in that thar moon!

 

[ValiantTraveler]

This is what they’re hiding from you

 

[mcz117chief]

What could possible be on the Moon that would be so valuable as to invest billions on return trips with sizable cargo holds.

 

[Musky_Cheese]

So is it made of cheese? What kind?

 

[Ornlu]

What could possible be on the Moon that would be so valuable as to invest billions on return trips with sizable cargo holds.

Keep in mind that the Moon has considerably weaker gravity; any return trips are going to be a lot cheaper just due to that fact.

An extraction equation could be profitable, if infrastructure was built on the moon to allow the ships to be built on site, fuel created on site, then launched from the moon on a one-way trip to land in the ocean and be towed to harbor. I'm sure it would depend on the value of the cargo, but it isn't out of the question to find something "rare" on the Moon that could be brought to Earth in decent quantities.

 

[Taxexemption]

Keep in mind that the Moon has considerably weaker gravity; any return trips are going to be a lot cheaper just due to that fact.

An extraction equation could be profitable, if infrastructure was built on the moon to allow the ships to be built on site, fuel created on site, then launched from the moon on a one-way trip to land in the ocean and be towed to harbor. I'm sure it would depend on the value of the cargo, but it isn't out of the question to find something "rare" on the Moon that could be brought to Earth in decent quantities.

I believe the moon itself, and most asteroids have large amounts of precious/rare metals. However, I think we will need a significant amount of technological advancement before we will actually be doing anything with that. Theoretically we can go mine on the moon, but at the current costs I doubt anything we take back would pay for the trip.


In the far future if we manage to mine far more of the gold that is already on earth, and the price of gold goes up to something completely stupid, and technology makes it much cheaper/safer to make these trips, then I could imagine that we might actually start mining the moon or asteroids. I think right now it's really a pipe dream.

 

[iconmaster]

Does this update fix the issue where footprints would persist permanently on the surface?

 

[Ornlu]

I believe the moon itself, and most asteroids have large amounts of precious/rare metals. However, I think we will need a significant amount of technological advancement before we will actually be doing anything with that. Theoretically we can go mine on the moon, but at the current costs I doubt anything we take back would pay for the trip.


In the far future if we manage to mine far more of the gold that is already on earth, and the price of gold goes up to something completely stupid, and technology makes it much cheaper/safer to make these trips, then I could imagine that we might actually start mining the moon or asteroids. I think right now it's really a pipe dream.

I'd have to largely agree with you; however my take would be that it's a pipe dream due to a lack of political will, rather than a technological barrier. If one of the big players of our current age was willing to devote a significant % chunk of their GDP for a few years toward making it happen, there would be a functioning base on the Moon in a few years.

Early Colonial efforts (1492 - 1700ish) were ridiculously expensive and dangerous, but once the infrastructure was made and permanent colonies could survive, those who leaned into colonization became the new powers that ruled the world, and stayed that way until 1945. Whoever leans into taming space would probably reap similar benefits.

 

[Tesseract]

I want the gold, gimme the gold.

If they're paying for DNA-clones who will mine the moon for decades, sign me up. I wanna be in that Sam Rockwell movie.

careful what you wish for

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

careful what you wish for

They can take my tissue but they can't take my soul.

 

[cryptoadam]

I aint stopping at the moon.



Red Rocks

 

[Tesseract]

They can take my tissue but they can't take my soul.

 

[Taxexemption]

I'd have to largely agree with you; however my take would be that it's a pipe dream due to a lack of political will, rather than a technological barrier. If one of the big players of our current age was willing to devote a significant % chunk of their GDP for a few years toward making it happen, there would be a functioning base on the Moon in a few years.

Early Colonial efforts (1492 - 1700ish) were ridiculously expensive and dangerous, but once the infrastructure was made and permanent colonies could survive, those who leaned into colonization became the new powers that ruled the world, and stayed that way until 1945. Whoever leans into taming space would probably reap similar benefits.

I think that the basis for our economy should be stuff like this. As in, we get some scientists to determine things like,


"Where should trees be planted and what type to best improve air quality or some other aspect of the environment"


"What could a relatively unskilled person do to contribute to space travel" (Or if this is a dumb question maybe how can we get more people to contribute to this process)


Then the government would pay anyone willing to pursue these things to do so full time. We print money to bail out banks, why not print money to improve the environment or to advance space flight? I want this more because I think an economy like ours needs something you can sink virtually an unlimited amount of labor into in order to keep the job market competitive. I doubt anything like this will ever happen though.

 

[UnravelKatharsis]

So is it made of cheese? What kind?

Brie

 

[Ikutachi]