"Toward a World Strategy and Utilization of Our Natural Satellite: A Report"
Chuck Meyer (1994)

URL: http://www-curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/lunar/lnews/lnjul94/workshop.htm

SITE SUMMARY: This report, by Chuck Meyer, a curator at NASA's Johnson Space Center, provides details about an International Lunar Workshop that was held from May 31 to June 3, 1994, in Beatenberg, Switzerland. The Workshop was hosted by the European Space Agency, and the University of Bern in Germany. Meyer reveals considerations discussed at the Workshop, especially of future plans for internationally coordinated programs for lunar exploration, including robotic and human exploration, with an emphasis on scientific aspects of exploration and their usefulness.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

1. How was "Big Science" defined, and what was said about it by the Workshop's keynote speaker? (Hint: See part of the report's paragraph two.)
2. What did Harrison Jack Schmitt, the Apollo 17 geologist-astronaut who attended the Workshop, say to recommend a return to the moon?
3. See the third statement of a declaration created at the Workshop. Which three scientific aspects were suggested for study during new lunar exploration missions?
4. Scroll three-quarters down the page. Find reproduced portions of "The Scientific Rationale for 'A Moon Programme: The European View, 1994.'" See the three sections that are titled Science of the Moon, Science on the Moon, and Science from the Moon. Choose one scientific aspect from each section, describe it, and explain its value or importance as suggested in the document and/or as you think.
5. How does this Workshop's conclusions compare with an American Space Exploration Initiative, according to Meyer? What was the status of the American Initiative at the time that Meyer wrote his Report on the Workshop?
6. Compare scientific aspects decided upon at the Workshop with aspects of the "Lunar Surface Exploration Strategy, Final Report, 1995," by the U.S. Lunar Exploration Science Working Group. Its url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below.

RELATED INTERNET SITE(S)

"Lunar Surface Exploration Strategy: Final Report" (1995)

http://www.pgd.hawaii.edu/lexswg

This report, by the Lunar Exploration Science Working Group (LExSWG), "highlights the key elements of a strategy for the exploration of the lunar surface by robotic spacecraft" and "set[s] the stage for intense human exploration." See links to the Introduction, Science Themes and Mission Elements, Strategy for Orbital Missions, Rovers and Field Science, Sample Return Missions, Geophysical Networks, In Situ Resource Utilization, and Technology Development. The fifty page report can be downloaded in PDF format.

The Moon—A Links Page, by the NASA Space Science Data Center

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/moonpage.html

The main topics with links to information are The Moon, Missions to the Moon, Future Missions, and Other Lunar Resources. There are a moon fact sheet, FAQs, plus many links to each unmanned and manned moon probe missions. Updated in May 2002. Note especially the links to the Lunar Science Home Page, Precise Positions of LMs (Lunar Modules) and Science Experiments on the Moon, and Online Books about the Moon (including a link to Reference Books on Lunar and Planetary Science).

Exploring the Moon

http://cass.jsc.nasa.gov/expmoon/lunar_missions.html

The NASA-funded Lunar and Planetary Institute provides links to data on The Decision to Go to the Moon (as initiated by the United States President John F. Kennedy in 1961), plus the Apollo missions, and unmanned missions (e.g., Clementine, Luna, Lunar Orbiter, Lunar Prospector, Ranger, Surveyor, and Zona). Note also information about future missions.

History of Lunar Probes

http://www.permanent.com/l-probes.htm

Clementine—Return to the Moon—Deep Space Program Science Experiment

http://www.cmf.nrl.navy.mil/clementine/clementine.html

Lunar Prospector Homepage

http://lunar.arc.nasa.gov

Featured are links to information on the project, results, news, its history, and science, plus archives (with documents, plus audio and video items), resources, and an Education area.

Galileo Project Information

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/galileo.htm

Provided are links to physical information (launch date, etc.), mission overview, science objectives, scientific firsts, scientific results, other information and data, and other sources of Galileo Project information and data (e.g., Experiment teams, education). Updated February 2002.

Future Lunar Missions

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/expmoon/future/future.html

Provided by the NASA-funded Lunar and Planetary Institute, and the Universities Space Research Association, this Web site has links to information under the categories Other Missions to the Moon, Previously Considered Missions, Private and Commercial Endeavors, Humans on the Moon, and Lunar Base Literature. Note the link to the International Lunar Exploration Working Group Web page which has links to current lunar missions, current news and events, reports and documents, a Lunar Explorers Digest, and www sites of interest.