MODERN EXPLORATION OF THE MOON: REMOTE SENSING DATASETS AS A GUIDE FOR CREWED AND ROBOTIC EXPLORATION

The post-Apollo era of lunar surface exploration has featured a myriad of orbital, landed, and robotic sample return missions. Modern orbital data is used to characterize the Moon at a range of scales, from differentiation of multiple compositional terranes at the hemispheric scale to the identification of outcrops at the sample scale. The varying scales of compositional data, and the insights they provide into the formation and evolution of the crust, provide a critical connection to the lunar samples we have here on Earth.

Recent analyses of the Apollo 17 site, done in preparation for the study of samples in the Apollo Next Generation Sample Analyses (ANGSA) program, reveals a compositional diversity in the massifs, some of which can be traced to specific samples collected during the mission. Such connections, while only speculative, provide context for the origins of samples, all of which is speculation, but can be used to construct a potential geological history for the region. For example, the rich diversity of boulders and large rock fragments, which were critical samples, are now providing additional context when connected to their sources. After 50+ years the hard work of the Apollo 17 crew is given new light with modern datasets.

Now in the age of Artemis and the potential extended exploration of the lunar south pole, we can provide an a priori compositional assessment of a region and use such data as a guide for sample site selection. For Artemis III and beyond, we will use a range of datasets, starting with high resolution images and topographic data to identify candidate targets of interest, but for the first time in crewed exploration, the additional geologic context of high spectral resolution data will provide an additional insight into possible targets of interest. With such data, and the return of samples selected because of their association with unique compositions, a new era of remote sensing—sample analyses connections will be made. Specifically, areas containing iron-bearing minerals are distinct in the dominantly anorthositic highlands, data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper is shown to highlight these distinct areas, providing us with a sense of the expected diversity we will sample there.