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China maps moon in three dimensions

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-29 08:22

Chinese experts Monday announced that the country's space scientists had completed the world's highest-resolution three-dimensional map of the moon.

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The map, covering the whole surface of the moon, was made based on image data obtained by a highly technical stereo camera carried by the Chang'e-1, China's first lunar probe. The map's spatial resolution - measured by the distance of two features within an image that can be clearly defined - is 500 meters.

Liu Xianlin, head of the expert team that made the accreditation, said the map could help study the features, laws and creation of the moon's surface and deepen understanding of lunar geology and its evolution.

"It would also pave the way for setting scientific objectives in future lunar probe projects," said Liu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping.

The Chang'e-1 lunar probe was launched in October 2007.