Exploration of the Moon invention of the telescope, an increasing number of people began to recognise the Moon as a sphere, though many believed that it was "perfectly smooth". In 1609, Galileo Galilei drew one of the first telescopic drawings of the Moon in his book and noted that it was not smooth but had mountains and craters. Later in the 17th century, Giovanni Battista Riccioli and Francesco Maria Grimaldi drew a map of the Moon and gave many craters the names they still have today. On maps, the dark parts of the Moon's surface were called "maria" (singular "mare") or seas, and the
Craters of the Moon National Wilderness Craters of the Moon National Wilderness The Craters of the Moon National Wilderness is located in the U.S. state of Idaho. The wilderness is managed by the National Park Service and is integral with Craters of the Moon National Monument. Set aside to protect volcanic features which ended 2,100 years ago, the wilderness has numerous lava flows, cinder cones and moon-like craters. The region was utilized by NASA to help prepare astronauts for moon walks as they believed that the region would provide a similar setting to what astronauts could expect to see on the moon. U.S. Wilderness Areas do