Strategies for the scientific exploration of the moon

The scientific exploration of the lunar surface addresses important questions for understanding the origin of the solar system, the relationship of the Moon to the Earth, fundamental processes of planetary formation and evolution such as planetary melting, volcanism and impact, and the history of ancient and modern impact events and radiation fluxes in the inner solar system. Gaining this understanding will require much more intensive surface exploration than has been possible in the past, with a very large number of interesting sites scattered over the whole lunar surface. Attaining global access for the Moon will be expensive. A purely robotic strategy probably cannot be sustained with the current priorities associated with lunar science. A robotic outpost strategy could be more cost-effective if it contains a long-range surface mobility component. Humans would add to the outpost capability by extending the life of exploration systems and by selecting samples for intensive study on Earth. A human outpost program could significantly lower costs of lunar scientific exploration by reducing transportation costs, providing scientific capability at marginal costs, and by improving performance of scientific instrumentation and systems through on-site operations.