USING THE MOON FOR SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION

The Moon is our closest celestial neighbor and represents a nearly complete picture of the processes that have influenced the inner solar system over time, especially the period >3 b.y. ago, which has been obscured/lost on Earth. The Moon also represents the only other planetary body that humans have visited. Investigations carried out on the lunar surface, coupled with re­turned samples and lunar meteorites, and data from orbital missions, have allowed sophisticated scientific questions to be posed regarding the formation and evolution of the Moon and the inner Solar System. Many of the discoveries from our studies of the Moon have become the para­digms for the evolution of the terrestrial planets. Three fundamental scientific concepts emerged: (1) lunar origin by giant impact, (2) the existence of an early lunar magma ocean, and (3) the potential of an impact cataclysm at 3.9 billion years ago and the impact record of the inner solar system. Radio astronomy from the radio-quiet lunar farside allows the origin of the solar system to be investigated. Many “Solar System” science objectives can be studied in more detail on the Moon with human-robotic partnerships than they can elsewhere because of the largely pristine exposures on the Moon and ease of operations there, relative to more distant locales. Therefore, we need to use the Moon to not only understand how the Moon and the Solar System have evolved, but also in understanding how to keep humans safe in space and develop exploration and safety systems so that human Solar System exploration can become a reality. In doing so, the major inner Solar System science questions can be addressed through lunar exploration and this adds to the desig­nation of the Moon as the “Rosetta Stone” for Solar System (and beyond) science exploration.