Exploration and mapping of the moon using spacecraft and space vehicles

Our knowledge of lunar topography has significantly improved over the last two decades owing to laser altimetry and images from orbiting spacecraft. Lunar terrain is detailed in the Survey Map of the Moon, which has a scale of 1:13 000 000. The map is based on the digital terrain model built using the data from the laser altimeter installed on the US spacecraft Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) with the resolution of 64 pixels per degree (0.5 km per pixel). In addition to the terrain relief shaded using the wash-drawing technique, the map provides Latin names of major lunar terrain features adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), and their names in Russian. There are symbols on the map, which indicate the landing sites of all the spacecraft and manned space vehicles. The paper describes the major results of lunar surface studies conducted on the basis of data from orbital spacecraft and lunar landers.