I'm a total noob here. I'm working on a lunar globe project and need help putting together a detailed 3D model of the moon. 

Looking to put together a team or find some motivated 3D gurus to make this happen :)

here's the long version:

I'm working on a project to create a cast aluminum globe of the moon, something on the order of 21-24 centimeters in size, that uses data from the LRO to create a highly accurate reproduction. This would be a kickstarter project similar to the 3D lunar map (http://www.wired.com/2012/02/3d-moon-map/).

I've had conversations with a number of metal fabrication companies and they've requested a 3D model (sldprt, igs or stp preferred) of the moon in order to send a price quote - this is a critical element for moving the project forward. I've had conversations with a number of people at JPL and NASA and they've been very supportive, but I need help getting the existing data (see links below) into a file type that the metal fab companies can work with.

I'm willing to pay a reasonable amount for someone or a team to help make this happen. Please let me know if you're interested in this job, how long you think it would take and what you think it would cost.

Thank you,
Chris

Data Sets 
http://wms.lroc.asu.edu/lroc/view_rdr/WAC_GLD100 (64 ppd should be fine) - this is the leading candidate in terms of datasets, but this is not my area of expertise so I need someone to help figure out what the best starting point is.
http://wms.lroc.asu.edu/lroc/rdr_product_select - home of the LROC data sets
http://imbrium.mit.edu/LOLA.html
http://planetologia.elte.hu/ipcd/ipcd.html?cim=virtual_moon_soviet
https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=8dfb3b57ce5b32506a12484fa9d9be10
Potentially useful related info - http://selena.sai.msu.ru/Rod/Publications/Rodionova%20ICC2013.pdf

Terragen springs to mind.

Another choice, software-wise, is Zbrush or Mudbox.  Through displacement mapping of extremely high density meshes with very detailed, and accurate texture maps; Zbrush and Mudbox can displace billions of polygons if necessary, and create 3D-printable results.

http://www.badking.com.au/site/shop/environment/physical-characteristics/

I've seen STL files generated from NASA photos of the lunar surface done this way, but only in segments, not entire spheres.  Since Zbrush starts with a Zsphere as the base object, mapping a spherical texture of the lunar surface to it, as a height map, shouldn't be an issue, if such a texture file exists.

Thanks LuxXeon - that sounds like it would work. But way out of my league in terms of something that I could do personally. Do you know of anyone who might be able to do this? There is no rush, so it could be a project that stretches over a few months. And I'm willing to pay a reasonable amount to help the project along.

Thanks :)

Hi Chris,

I sent you some site mail here on Renderosity, and I also posted over on the SolidWorks forums. I would like to discuss this with you.

Chris