Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
The University of California Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP)
Los Alamos Center for Space Sciences and Exploration
Lunar and Planetary Institute
David J. Lawrence
Space and Atmospheric Sciences, NIS-1
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Mail Stop D466
Los Alamos NM 87545
Phone: 505-667-0945 Fax: 505-665-7395
e-mail: [email protected]
Mike Duke, Colorado School of Mines
Sarah Dunkin, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Rick Elphic, Los Alamos National Laboratory
B. Ray Hawke, University of Hawai'i
Lon Hood, University of Arizona
Brad Jolliff, Washington University
David Lawrence, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Chip Schearer, University of New Mexico
Harrison Schmitt, University of Wisconsin
The Moon Beyond 2002 will be held on September 12–14, 2002, at the Taos Ski Valley near Taos, New Mexico. Taos Ski Valley is located approximately three hours north of Albuquerque (135 miles), two hours north of Santa Fe, and 20 minutes from the town of Taos, NM. Taos is a town of 6200 people and is known as a popular tourist destination in northern New Mexico. Attractions in Taos include Taos pueblo, art galleries, and extensive outdoors activities including the Taos ski area. More information can be found at the Taos Chamber of Commerce or at either of these Taos Ski Valley Web sites: www.taosskivalley.com or www.skitaos.org.Information about traveling to Taos and making hotel reservations for The Moon Beyond 2002 workshop can be found below. Technical sessions consisting of invited talks, contributed talks, and posters will take place at the Taos Ski Valley Resort Center. The convention site will be within walking distance for most of the hotels being reserved for the workshop.
In addition, for those staying over Saturday evening, the Taos Ski Valley will be holding their 3rd Annual Oktoberfest from noon until evening. Participants of The Moon Beyond 2002 are welcome to attend this event.
The past ten years have seen a renaissance of lunar science. The Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions have provided critical new data about the global composition and physical state of the lunar surface; continuing studies of lunar samples are expanding our understanding of the lunar interior, regolith, and surface processes. All these new data are in turn stimulating new efforts at modeling the composition and physical state of the lunar surface and interior with ever increasing detail. New missions to shed further light on the lunar surface and interior are being implemented by the Japanese and European space agencies. Activities to highlight the new datasets and efforts to integrate the results have been promoted by the New Views of the Moon (NVM) lunar science initiative. This initiative has successfully brought together planetary scientists from a wide variety of disciplines for dedicated lunar science workshops, special sessions of LPSC, and special lunar science issues of the Journal of Geophysical Research.One of the conclusions that has been reinforced from all this recent work is that despite its apparent simplicity, the Moon is a very complicated planetary body. The new information that has been gathered and assimilated has highlighted many aspects of the Moon's formation, evolution, and current state that remain a mystery. This complexity is even more striking given that we know more about the Moon through samples and remote sensing than we know about most any other planetary body. In addition to being interesting for its own sake, the complexity of even a "simple" planetary body such as the Moon has implications for how we can understand other planetary bodies that may be even more complex. Our study of the Moon can therefore serve as a case study for how we explore other parts of the solar system.
The purpose of this meeting is to capitalize on the recent advances by focusing the planetary science community on the following: (1) What are the key questions that should now be addressed to advance lunar science and exploration? and (2) What actions should the planetary science community carry out to best answer these questions?
The format of this meeting will consist of a series of contributed and invited talks over two-and-a-half days with no parallel sessions. For organizational purposes, presentations will cover the following lunar science topics (listed with no particular priority):Almost 70 abstracts were accepted covering the above range of topics. For the first two days of presentations, we will focus on detailed lunar science and exploration topics. While recent results can certainly be presented, participants are encouraged to highlight the key questions that need to be addressed to advance lunar science and what actions are needed to answer these questions. The final half day will emphasize presentations of well-planned missions that can answer one or more of the major questions of lunar science and include time for discussion of the prioritization of these questions. In order to provide ample time for discussion, the number of talks have been limited and chosen by the scientific organizing committee. Unfortunately, a number of presentations that requested talks had to be moved to poster presentations. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Finally, abstracts that have been submitted for oral and poster presentations will be published as part of an abstract volume that will be distributed to workshop participants at the meeting.
- Evolution and present chemical and physical state of the lunar crust, mantle, and core
- Physical state and longevity of water ice and/or enhanced solar wind hydrogen and helium abundances at the lunar poles
- Late heavy bombardment, its duration, its source of impactors, and what it means for our understanding of the Moon and other planetary bodies
- Current state of the giant impact hypotheses and implications of the nature of the lower mantle of the Moon
- Composition and distribution of elements, minerals, and rocks at the lunar surface and an evaluation of lunar resources
- Future lunar missions that can definitively answer one or more of the highest priority lunar science questions
All oral presentations (except where noted in the program) will be given 10 minutes for the presentation and 5 minutes for discussion. All presentations will have access to two overhead projectors, two slide projectors, or a single laptop computer projector. For presenters bringing an electronic presentation, please use one of the following media: CD-ROM, ZIP disk, or 1.4 MB floppy disk.
All poster presentations will have a maximum space of 44' x 44' for display. Posters can be set up during the first day of the meeting and left up during the duration of the workshop. Thursday evening, which includes a dinner buffet, will be set aside for viewing and discussion of the posters.
For more detailed information regarding the meeting schedule, please refer to the preliminary program and abstracts. These files are in PDF format, viewable with version 4.0 (or higher) of Adobe's Acrobat Reader, available free of charge from the Adobe home page.
A registration fee of $150 will be assessed to each participant to cover various workshop services and meals. You must preregister and prepay by August 19, 2002, to avoid the $20 late fee.The registration fee includes breakfast and lunch for each day of the workshop, an arrival reception at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 11, and a buffet dinner on Thursday, September 12. Participants will be free to have dinner in the town of Taos on Friday, September 13. Participants may purchase meals for guests as needed ($8 for breakfast, $13 each for lunch and dinner). Payment for guest meals can be made on-site and does not have to be prepaid. An informal program of activities for guests to explore the town of Taos will be put together if there is sufficient interest. Please indicate on the registration form if you plan to bring any guests.
To preregister, please return the downloadable preregistration form with your payment before August 19, 2002, or you may use the electronic preregistration form if paying by credit card. Foreign participants who state on the registration form that they have a currency exchange problem may pay in cash at the meeting and avoid the $20 late fee if they return the downloadable form by August 19, 2002.
Note: If paying by credit card, it will be charged by Taos Ski Valley. If you do not wish to pay over the Web, call the Taos Ski Valley at 1-800-347-7414 or (505)776-2291.
Cancellations with requests for 100% refunds will be accepted up to 3 days before the workshop. After this time, cancellations will be reimbursed up to 50% (minus a 10% credit card processing fee).
Travel to Taos
The nearest major airport to Taos is the Albuquerque International Airport. Albuquerque is served by most of the major airlines. Once in Albuquerque, Taos is a three-hour drive north from Albuquerque. For those wanting to drive themselves to Taos, driving directions and a map are provided. You can easily obtain a rental car as all of the major rental car companies are located at Albuquerque International Airport.There are also two airport shuttle companies that travel from Albuquerque to Taos.
Twin Hearts ExpressTaos can also be reached through the local commuter airline Rio Grande Air. Round-trip fares on Rio Grande Air from Albuquerque to Taos cost $150. For more information about making reservations with this airline, please visit the Rio Grande Air Web site, or call 1-877-435-9742. Some of the Ski Valley hotels offer shuttle service from the Taos airport. Please call ahead to your hotel to see if this service is offered.
800-654-9456 or 505-751-1201
Twin Hearts Express offers four departure times from Albuquerque to Taos (and from Taos to Albuquerque) for a cost of $40 one-way and $75 round-trip. Travelers can be taken to either the town of Taos or the Taos Ski Valley. Please call the above numbers for more information and reservations.Faust's Transportation
888-830-3410 or 505-758-3410
Faust's Transportation offers two departure times from Albuquerque to Taos (and from Taos to Albuquerque) for a cost of $45 each way. Travelers can be taken to either the town of Taos or the Taos Ski Valley. Please call the above numbers for more information and reservations.Finally, for those interested in traveling to Santa Fe and reducing the driving time to Taos by about an hour, United Airlines provides air service to Santa Fe through Denver. Participants choosing this option should know that it may be difficult to obtain rental car service at the Santa Fe airport. Please contact your rental car company to see if they provide service from the Santa Fe municipal airport.
More information about traveling to Taos can be found at taosvacationguide.com/getting_totaos.html.
Taos Weather
In mid-September, the daytime weather in Taos is expected to be in the 60s–70s°F (15–21°C); the nighttime temperatures are usually cool with temperatures in the 30s–40s°F (0–4°C). Therefore, bring clothes appropriate for both warm and cool weather. Please also note that the elevation of the Taos Ski Valley is 9200 feet (2800m), which is much higher than sea level. Check out the current weather conditions at the Taos Ski Valley.Hotel Reservations
