From deep craters to basaltic plains, the varied surface of the moon has been revealed in stunning detail by the US Geological Survey. The two sets of maps, compiled by cartographer Trent Hare, include image mosaics and topographical views of the lunar landscape taken over a period of four years. The grey and white areas reveal higher peaks, while darker blues show deep craters. To the left of these craters, is Oceanus Procellarum, which is Latin for 'Ocean of Storms'. The two sets of maps include image mosaics (right) and topographical views (right) of the lunar landscape. Darker blue show deep craters, while the grey and white areas reveal areas of elevation . Early theories claimed this mysterious region, roughly 1,600 miles (2,600km) across, was created by an asteroid impact. Last year, however, Nasa scientists proposed that the Ocean of Storms was in fact the result of the formation of ancient rift valleys. The feature is located on the surface of the moon's near side which is characterised by low elevations and numerous ancient volcanic plains. Scientists believe the rifts are buried beneath dark volcanic plains in this area, and so far, they have only been detected in the gravity data provided by the Grail probes. The map also shows Mare Orientale, an impact crater that was partially flooded by basalts. Shaped like a target ring bull's-eye, the Mare Orientale is one of the most striking large scale lunar features. Found on the moon's extreme western edge, it is difficult to see from an earthbound perspective . Pictured on the left is the moon's south pole, and on the right, the north pole. To create the maps, more than 6.5 billion measurements were collected between 2009 and 2013 by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide Angle Camera (Wac) and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter . Nasa's ultimate goal at the moment is to land humans on Mars by the 2030s. Exactly how to get there is up for debate, with the agency favouring a mission to an asteroid in the next decade, followed by a giant leap to the red planet the decade after. But one expert has claimed that Nasa is actually planning to go back to the moon first, as a waypoint to reaching its final goal. Writing for My San Antonio, science reporter Eric Berger explained how President Obama had, in 2010, outlined Nasa's goals for the forthcoming decades. 'I just have to say pretty bluntly here, we've been there before,' the President said in a speech at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at the time. The goal instead was to visit an asteroid in the 2020s, and then send a crew to Mars in the 2030s - with no mission to another destination in between. Recently, Nasa revealed how they plan to do the asteroid mission - by picking up a boulder from a larger asteroid, placing it in lunar orbit, and having astronauts go and visit. But Mr Berger says that Nasa has been 'quietly' considering going back to the moon before going to Mars. He said that Nasa is, 'in internal studies, reconsidering the moon, including the lunar surface, for human activities as a significant stepping stone to Mars.' The lava-flooded rift valleys are unlike anything found anywhere else on the moon and may at one time have resembled rift zones on Earth, Mars and Venus. The map also shows Mare Orientale, an impact crater that was partially flooded by basalts. Shaped like a target ring bull's-eye, the Mare Orientale is one of the most striking large scale lunar features. Found on the moon's extreme western edge, it is difficult to see from an earthbound perspective. It is about 600 miles (950km) across and was formed by the impact of an asteroid sized object which caused ripples in the lunar crust resulting in the concentric circular features. To create the maps, Mr Hare used more than 6.5 billion measurements collected between 2009 and 2013 by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide Angle Camera (Wac) and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The images have also been released in black-and-white image mosaic based on the same data using wide angle cameras. To see a more detailed view of the map, please click here. To the left of the craters, is Oceanus Procellarum, which Latin for 'Ocean of Storms'. Early theories claimed this mysterious region, which is roughly 1,600 miles (2,600km) across, was created by an asteroid impact. Last year, however, Nasa scientists proposed that the Ocean of Storms was in fact the result of the formation of ancient rift valleys . The south pole can be see on the left, and the north pole on the right. The images have also been released in black-and-white image mosaic based on the same data using wide angle cameras . To create the maps, Mr Hare used more than 6.5 billion measurements collected between 2009 and 2013 by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Wide Angle Camera (Wac) and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)
The maps, compiled by US Geological Survey, include image mosaics and topographical views of the moon . They show features such as 'Ocean of Storms' and Mare Orientale captured by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter . To create the maps, researchers used more than 6.5 billion measurements collected between 2009 and 2013 .