Scientific mapping projects like the ongoing US BRAIN initiative and Human Cell Atlas are data and resource intensive endeavors that curate immense amounts of information. While both public and private funds support such mapping of the scientific knowledge landscape, the impact of such projects on innovation is not well understood. Innovation can be conceptualized as a spatial process, where firms and inventors search either locally or in distant, lesser explored, territories. In my dissertation, I asked whether scientific maps influence technological search, and if so how. To address this empirically, I chose the Human Genome Project (HGP) as my context and asked how it affected drug discovery. HGP, the largest publicly-funded biology project, released the complete human genome map in 2000, enabling scientists to identify and focus on disease-causing genes as targets for drug discovery. Using a novel dataset of chemistry drug patents, I tracked firm search processes pre- and post-HGP. To measure how the HGP map impacts firm exploration, I also developed a novel method based on chemical similarities to capture search trajectories over time. My conclusions on how the HGP map influenced inventive activity, innovation strategy and outcomes are detailed in three essays and build on existing theories in the innovation literature. Briefly, I found that the HGP map increased the rate of novel compound production, exploration and impacted firm innovation strategies. This was influenced by prior firm knowledge, market competition and product market specialization. This study informs on mechanisms by which basic science driven scientific maps influence industry innovation. My findings bear implications on public policy, R&D management and firm strategy.