General Themes

The morning of day one is mostly devoted to Programmatic and Mission Updates to the LEAG community. The remaining two and a half days will consist of oral and poster presentations on the topics of:

Science-Exploration-Commercial Synergies
Definition and Exploitation of Lunar Resources
New Lunar Mission Concepts
Lunar Sample Returns — Priorities, Strategies, and Goals

We are specifically requesting abstracts and presentations that address the questions described below, although all new research results pertaining to the Moon are welcome and encouraged to be submitted for presentation at the 2017 annual LEAG meeting. As last year, emphasis will be placed on discussion and community input.

Science-Exploration-Commercial Synergies Abstracts submitted to this session should address the following questions:

What are the capabilities of commercial launch vehicles, orbiters, and landers?
What lunar science and exploration questions need to be addressed in terms of the current decadal survey and other significant reports (e.g., the LEAG Lunar Exploration Roadmap; the NRC SCEM Report)?
What payloads are ready to fly and what decadal science and/or SKG data would they return?

Definition and Exploitation of Lunar Resources Abstracts submitted to this session should address:

What sites should be considered for surface prospecting?
Could public-private partnerships accelerate the rate of lunar surface prospecting?
What are the requirements for a long-lived, capable rover that would be the next step beyond Resource Prospector?
Are there science and exploration synergies in resource prospecting?

What are the major issues regarding assessment of resource viability and how can they be addressed?

New Lunar Mission Concepts Abstracts submitted to the session should address:

New lunar mission concepts that would address important scientific questions as well as the Strategic Knowledge Gaps (SKGs).
Mission concepts that include technology demonstrations of interest.
Mission categories include: Cube-Satellites, Discovery-class, Cosmic Visions (S-, M-, L-class), and New Frontiers, along with any that don’t fit into these categories (e.g., SALMON, commercial offerings/opportunities) but would address important science and exploration questions.

Lunar Sample Returns — Priorities, Strategies, and Goals Abstracts submitted to this session should specifically address at least one of the following questions:

Importance of South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return
What science questions and exploration SKGs can be addressed by sample return?
Where should sample return missions land?
What should sample return spacecraft look like (rovers, static landers, etc.)?
Can sample return be achieved via public-private partnerships?

Note: All electronic submission forms are part of the Meeting Portal, which requires users to set up a personal profile to access our electronic forms (setting up a profile is quick and easy, requiring only a few minutes of your time).