CONSIDERATIONS FOR RETURN TO THE MOON AND LUNAR BASE SITE SELECTION WORKSHOPS

The establishment of a lunar base with a permanent human presence is o n the horizon. The scientific importance of the Moon and the potential use of local resources at a lunar base provide valuable concepts to c onsider. Importantly, there are significant ideas, concepts, and repor ts from the past, the products of a wealth of ''mental calorie'' input s, which should be reconsidered; herein, many of these are placed with in an historical perspective, in hopes that we may learn by our past e xperiences. The 1994 Clementine mission, its instrumentation and retur ned data, provides the first global coverage of the composition, struc ture, and topography of the Moon. The planned 1997 Lunar Prospector wi ll add significantly to this database. These new global data are requi site for the selection of a lunar base. It is paramount to consider th oroughly the rationale for site selection, and much of the groundwork for this rationale has already been performed. The selection process s hould be led by a strategic purpose or vision that considers (1) scien tific objectives, both on the Moon, as well as from the Moon (e.g., as tronomy); (2) resource utilization; and (3) operational considerations , both orbital and surface. Many of the relationships between these fa ctors were explored during workshops convened at Johnson Space Center by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in April a nd 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 Comm ittee should provide the basis for a realistic site selection for a hu man presence at an outpost on the lunar surface.