Workshop Location and Dates

NASA is organizing a workshop to discuss new scientific research that could be enabled by human exploration near the lunar south pole.

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, and Space Technology Mission Directorate are co-sponsoring a three-day workshop to actively engage the scientific community in order to determine what science could be done by human crews on the lunar surface and how it can be achieved. This workshop will be held April 28–30, 2020 in the Denver, Colorado area.  The final location will be announced at a later date.

Attendance will be by “invitation-only” based on submitted abstracts. It is expected that portions of the workshop will be streamed live for those who cannot attend in person.

Purpose and Scope

In accordance with the Space Policy Directive-1, NASA is planning a human return to the Moon’s surface by 2024 as a large next step in human exploration of the solar system. The NASA Artemis program is being conducted in two phases:  Phase 1 will see the next human beings set foot on the lunar surface near the Moon’s south pole, and Phase 2 will create a sustained human presence on the lunar surface by 2028. Community input and early integration of science into the exploration architecture are essential to maximizing the science return from the Artemis missions.

Initial strategies for science payload delivery include using the Artemis 2024 lander, as well as pre-deployment of tools and experiments through Commercial Lunar Payloads Services (CLPS) deliveries. Astronauts could then deploy/operate/utilize these tools and experiments once on the surface. It is expected that some science investigations may require the attention of a crew to deploy/conduct experiments, while other investigations may simply use the Artemis architecture as infrastructure to supply power, communications, etc. to otherwise autonomous systems.