Considerations for return to the moon and lunar base site selection workshops

Details Considerations for return to the moon and lunar base site selection workshops Considerations for return to the moon and lunar base site selection workshops

Apr 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997jaere..10...68t&link_type=abstract

Journal of Aerospace Engineering, vol. 10, p. 68

Physics

Geophysics

1

Atmospheric Physics, Data Bases, Lunar Bases, Lunar Exploration, Moon, Astronomy, Geophysics, Lunar Surface

Scientific paper

The establishment of a lunar base with a permanent human presence is on the horizon. The scientific importance of the Moon and the potential use of local resources at a lunar base provide valuable concepts to consider. Importantly, there are significant ideas, concepts, and reports from the past, the products of a wealth of 'mental calorie' inputs, which should be reconsidered; herein, many of these are placed within an historical perspective, in hopes that we may learn by our past experiences. The 1994 Clementine mission, its instrumentation and returned data, provides the first global coverage of the composition, structure, and topography of the Moon. The planned 1997 Lunar Prospector will add significantly to this database. These new global data are requisite for the selection of a lunar base. It is paramount to consider thoroughly the rationale for site selection, and much of the groundwork for this rationale has already been performed. The selection process should be led by a strategic purpose or vision that considers (1) scientific objectives, both on the Moon, as well as from the Moon (e.g., astronomy); (2) resource utilization; and (3) operational considerations, both orbital and surface. Many of the relationships between these factors were explored during workshops convened at Johnson Space Center by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in April and August 1990. However, these workshops have not resulted in official, catalogued NASA publications. The merits of numerous potential sites were analyzed in terms of lunar geoscience, geophysics, space physics, astronomy, and lunar resources, as well as operational constraints. The considerations and recommendations of the NASA Site Selection Committee should provide the basis for a realistic site selection for a human presence at an outpost on the lunar surface.

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