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 2,600km measurements collected between 2009 and 2013 .