Apollo Missions 15-17’s Lunar Topographic Orthophotomaps (1973)

The Lunar and Planetary Institute (a self describing “research institute that provides support services to NASA and the planetary science community, and conducts planetary science research under the leadership of staff scientists, visiting researchers, and postdoctoral fellows“) has put online a huge database of high resolution topographic maps, geologic charts, satellites’ photographs and more of the lunar surface, along with material on Mars, Mercury, Venus, and other planets moons.

The following are selected examples of “Lunar Topographic Orthophotomap (LTO) Series” images, originally published by the Defense Mapping Agency at the scale 1:250.000, from the Apollo Missions 15–17. (1971-1972, maps elaborated in 1973).

You can find more detailed informations, along with a History of Selenodesy (that is: “that branch of applied mathematics that determines, by observation and measurement, the exact positions of points and the figures and areas of large portions of the moon’s surface, or the shape and size of the moon” – definition via), and a History of Lunar Mapping, in the Lunar Cartographic Dossier (edited by Lawrence A, Schimerman), 

 Also read the other documents contained in the LTO References dossier.