Researchers are charting in close detail the moon's south pole in preparation for the Artemis mission.

The moon is home to a wide range of topographical features, including towering mountains called massifs.

The moon's south pole has a wealth of resources, like water ice.

The moon is a lumpy, bumpy, and mysterious place.

Scientists at NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) are trying to understand it. They've created the Lunar South Pole Atlas, a detailed chart of the moon's south side, to prepare for the upcoming Artemis mission.

In addition to giant craters and sweeping lava fields, the moon is home to some pretty massive mountains. Up there, the mountains are referred to as massifs. New charts of the lunar south pole revealed the towering nature of two such massifs: Malapert Massif and Leibniz Beta. Both are located right next to the Hawthorne and Shoemaker craters, respectively.

The difference in elevation between the tip of Malapert Massif and the base of Hawthorne crater is about 5 miles. For context, that's almost as tall as Mount Everest, which stretches nearly 5.5 miles into the sky. In the case of Leibniz Beta, which lies next to Shoemaker crater, the elevation difference is a whopping 6.2 miles—far higher than Earth's tallest mountain.

LPI/CLSE

LPI/CLSE

We know there are incredible features elsewhere in the solar system. The tallest cliff, for example, can be found on Uranus's moon Miranda. If you dove off its tallest mountain, the 12-mile-high Verona Rupes, you'd be free-falling for nearly eight minutes.

The moon's south pole is a region of critical importance for NASA and other space agencies hoping to explore the lunar surface. In 2018, ISRO’s Chandrayaan-1 found deposits of water ice in the permanently shaded craters along the moon's south pole. These same craters are home to some of the coldest temperatures ever recorded in the solar system.

Maybe our moon seems dull compared to some other exotic moons in the solar system, like Miranda or Io. But there are still a ton of incredible features left to explore on our own nearest neighbor.

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