Los Alamos to host international lunar science meeting

In light of the recent and successful Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions to the moon, the purpose of this meeting is to gather together the international community of lunar scientists to answer the following questions: what are the key questions that should be addressed to advance lunar science and exploration and what actions should the planetary science community carry out to best answer these questions?

In addition to the science discussions, "The Moon Beyond 2002" meeting will host geological field trips around the Rio Grande Gorge. Two Apollo geologists, Gordon Swann and Bill Muehlberger, as well as Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt will lead the field trips. The Rio Grande Gorge was one of the training sites for the Apollo 15 astronauts. The field trips simulate an astronaut geology expedition - participants are playing the part of an astronaut, the trip leaders act as Mission Control - with the aim of unraveling the geologic history of the Rio Grande Gorge and vicinity.

David Lawrence of Los Alamos's Space and Atmospheric Sciences Group said, "When we planned this meeting last August, I was unaware of the significance of the date Sept. 12 for lunar science. It was on this day in 1962, 40 years ago, that President John F. Kennedy gave a speech at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where he gave credence and inspiration for the United States to go forward with the Apollo Mission to the moon. It was in this speech that he made the following well-known statement: 'We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone.' "

At the meeting, scientists will discuss recent advances in lunar science as well as the prospect of future scientific missions to the moon. Representatives from Japan and the European Space Agency will discuss future missions they plan to launch to the moon in the upcoming years.

For more information about "The Moon Beyond 2002" go to http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/moon2002/ online. Or contact Lawrence, meeting facilitator, at "The Inn at Snakedance" Hotel at 800-322-9815. Eloisa Michel is the on-site meeting coordinator and can be contacted at 505-699-1304.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the U.S. Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.

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