Abstract
Whitepaper #209 submitted to the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032. Topics: habitability and water; Mercury and/or the Moon; solar system formation, dynamics processes, and chronology
Highlights
Big Questions in Planetary Science This report focuses on key planetary science questions and how the Moon, an ideal laboratory for the study of planetary processes that occur across the Solar System, can provide answers
These big-picture questions were developed through an inclusive, community-driven process guided by the Executive Committee of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG), which worked over several months to develop a cohesive set of big-picture questions for planetary science using a process that included 1) a public call for inputs to the lunar exploration (“lunar-l”) listserv maintained by LEAG Emeritus Chair Prof
Clive Neal of Notre Dame, which has over 900 subscribers; and 2) a Town Hall at the 2019 NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute Forum at the NASA Ames Research Center
Summary
Big Questions in Planetary Science This report focuses on key planetary science questions and how the Moon, an ideal laboratory for the study of planetary processes that occur across the Solar System, can provide answers. Many foundational science questions that are relevant for establishing the bombardment history of the inner Solar System could be addressed at the Moon: What are the formation ages of key lunar basins (e.g., Orientale, Crisium, Nectaris, Schrodinger, South Pole– Aitken), and what form of the Late Heavy Bombardment do they support (i.e., cataclysm, sawtooth, monotonic decline)?
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