Lunar Geology and the Apollo Program

Geologic Map of the Copernicus Quadrangle of the Moon
H. H. Schmitt, N. J. Trask and E. M. Shoemaker, “Geologic Map of the Copernicus Quadrangle of the Moon,” 1967. USGS.

Planetary geologist David Rothery writes about the early attempts to map the Moon’s geology, both before and after the Apollo program. There was a symbiotic relationship between the map and the mission: maps suggested where landings might be most profitable from a geological perspective; and field work by the astronauts informed later moon maps.