An Update on the Lunar Science Initiative, "New Views of the Moon"   by Brad Jolliff Washington University, St. Louis

I'd like to update you on activities associated with the lunar science initiative "New Views of the Moon enabled by combined remotely sensed and lunar sample data sets." The initiative began under the leadership of CAPTEM (Curation and Analysis Planning Team for Extraterrestrial Materials) and has now involved a significantly diverse cross section of the lunar and planetary science community. I will also emphasize what the goals of this initiative are and where it is heading.

Update. Despite pressures for many of us to be involved in things non-lunar, it has been great to see the excellent participation and presentations at recent events. The second New Views workshop, held in Flagstaff last September (see Wendell Mendell's article in Lunar News No. 64, Dec. 99) and convened by Lisa Gaddis (U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff) and Chip Shearer (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque), was in my opinion a great success. Topics at that workshop spanned a broad range and achieved a significant focus on integration of data sets. For LPSC 31, Clive Neal (University of Notre Dame) and fellow LPSC Program Committee members Lisa Gaddis and Jeff Gillis (Washington University) organized two excellent sessions devoted to the Thermal and Magmatic Evolution of the Moon. These sessions were well attended and the presentations were outstanding. An upcoming issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets will be devoted to a collection of papers stemming from work presented at these sessions. And, a set of papers has already appeared in JGR-P related to the New Views workshops, with another set due out soon. Finally, we look forward to a third New Views workshop this coming October in Houston (see below).

If I sound excited about the activities associated with the New Views initiative, I am. But of course, it is the research of individuals and groups that form the basis for the excitement. This particular science initiative seeks to capitalize on timing, especially in relation to recent missions - Clementine and Lunar Prospector - and the superb data sets and exciting new results coming from them. This is a critical time for lunar science as we are faced with the opportunity to integrate these new data sets with what is known from an already rich base of sample knowledge, on-surface investigations, and prior remote sensing. It is especially crucial for the sample community to demonstrate clearly the role of sample analysis and to integrate constraints from sample analysis into understanding new data sets and advancing our understanding of the Moon and how to explore a planet.

Another key aspect of timing is the progress of the Mars Exploration program and the possibility of sample return in the near future. Here again, the Moon and our experiences through over three decades of extensive research and exploration provide many lessons. From a programmatic perspective, one may consider three key elements of exploration: remote sensing, on-surface scientific investigation, and sample return and analysis. With the 20:20 vision of hindsight, we may conclude that we'd have done lunar exploration differently, seeking a different and better balance among the key elements.

In retrospect, the relationships between these key elements and how the different kinds of data sets feed back into one other and provide a synergistic value enhancement can be seen. For example, remote sensing guides site selection for on-surface geologic investigations, which in turn provide validation and calibration sites for the remotely sensed data. Value-added remote-sensing results may then be extrapolated to regions beyond the landing sites. Insights gained from samples collected with geologic context are invaluable. When integrated carefully with compositional results from remote sensing, we can develop context to understand global processes such as volcanism and crustal and mantle compositional heterogeneity, and to determine the sources of materials that prove to be far-flung ejecta from big impacts and for materials that have been ejected and delivered to Earth as meteorites. We can also then better identify regions for which we do not have adequate sample representation for full understanding of the surface or the underlying geology.

Where is the lunar science initiative headed? By now you should have seen an announcement for the third New Views workshop, to be held at the LPI, October 12-15. This workshop will differ in format from previous ones. The workshop is related to planning efforts for a book that will attempt to capture the results of integrated data sets and their application to understanding the Moon's past as well as how to proceed with future exploration. The workshop is being organized around six topical areas that have emerged as key themes. It is intended that these six topical areas will form the basis for chapters in the book. Abstracts and short workshop presentations will be aimed at plugging into a particular aspect of one of the topical areas, which are being developed in outline form by a group of planners. Briefly, the topical areas are as follows: (1) Lunar surface, Sun-Moon interactions, and lunar atmosphere; (2) Constitution of the lunar interior; (3) Thermal and magmatic evolution; (4) Chronology and cratering history; (5) Strategic exploration and utilization of the Moon; and (6) Earth-Moon system, comparative planetology, and lessons learned. The workshop goals are to define the content and organization of these topical areas, which will provide a basis to begin the book-writing effort.

I will conclude by restating the goals of the lunar science initiative at this stage. First, we seek to provide a forum for (and ultimately produce a book about) the integration of remotely sensed data sets, results of surface exploration, and sample analysis, which leads to a more complete understanding of the Moon, its past history, and future use and exploration. Second, we seek to show, through experience with the Moon, how to understand solar system bodies through a balanced exploration program. Through these efforts, we strive to have a positive influence on the future of planetary science and exploration, especially the Moon, Mars, and asteroids, in the near term. We seek to emphasize the importance of sample return and analysis, in light of what we have learned about the Moon from the returned samples and what will be learned about Mars and other bodies from which samples are returned by future missions.

Brad Jolliff is a senior research scientist in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and current chair of the CAPTEM subcommittee for lunar samples.