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David A. KringIndiana University, B.S. with Honors, Geology, 1984 
IntroductionIn early 2004, the President of the United States outlined a new vision for space exploration that begins with a return to the Moon. The President’s Vision
“Mankind is drawn to the heavens for the same reason we were once drawn into unknown lands and across the open sea. We choose to explore space because doing so improves our lives, and lifts our national spirit. So let us continue the journey. The Moon • Undertake lunar exploration activities to enable sustained human and robotic exploration of Mars and more distant destinations in the solar system; • Starting no later than 2008, initiate a series of robotic missions to the Moon to prepare for and support future human exploration activities; • Conduct the first extended human expedition to the lunar surface as early as 2015, but no later than the year 2020; and • Use lunar exploration activities to further science, and to develop and test new approaches, technologies, and systems, including the use of lunar and other space resources, to support sustained human space exploration to Mars and other destinations.” President George W. Bush This is an exciting and complex task that will require the contributions of many people within NASA, industry, and the academic community. This web site provides a few examples of the issues to be explored and the architecture needed to address them. Science and Exploration GoalsExploring Impact Cratering on the Moon and its Implications for the Biologic Evolution of, and Habitable Conditions on, the Earth (PDF) Presented at the 2005 LEAG Conference on Lunar Exploration, Houston, TX Finding Missing Pages of Earth History on the Moon (PDF) Invited presentation for the 2006 Astrobiology Science Conference, Washington, DC Exploring Lunar Impact Craters and Their Implications for the Origin and Early Evolution of Life on Earth (PDF) Invited presentation for the 2006 AGU Session regarding “Science of, on and from the Moon,” San Francisco, CA Using the Moon to Determine the Magnitude of the Inner Solar System Cataclysm and Post-Cataclysm Impact Flux (PDF) Invited by the NASA Advisory Council and NASA Headquarters for 2007 Workshop on Science Associated with the Lunar Exploration Architecture, Tempe, AZ Deciphering the Chronology and Implications of Impact Cratering on the Moon: A High Science Priority for Lunar Exploration (PDF) Presented at the 2008 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX Space: An Essential Frontier for Our Nation’s Future (PDF) Submitted in response to a request from the Space Studies Board of The National Academies, 24 January 2009 Targeting Complex Craters and Multi-ring Basins to Determine the Tempo of Impact Bombardment While Simultaneously Probing the Lunar Interior (PDF) Invited by the organizers of the 2009 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Science Targeting meeting, Tempe AZ Using the Moon to Explore the Entire Solar System (PDF) White Paper submitted to the U.S. Human Space Flight Plan Review Committee (aka Augustine Committee), 14 August 2009 Timely Reminder to Return to the Moon (PDF) Published in Nature (v. 490, p. 487), October 25, 2012. Lunar Spacecraft ArchitectureLunar Surface Explorer: A Rover-Based Surveyor Suitable for Multiple Mission Scenarios (PDF) Presented at the 2005 LEAG Conference on Lunar Exploration, Houston, TX Initiating the Surface Ops Phase of the Lunar Exploration Architecture with Robotic Landers and Rovers (PDF) Prepared for the 2007 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX A Rover-based Strategy for the Robotic and Human Phases of the Lunar Exploration Initiative (PDF) Prepared for the NASA Advisory Council’s 2007 Workshop on Science Associated with the Lunar Exploration Architecture, Tempe, AZ Reducing the Risk, Requirements, and Cost of the Human Exploration Phase of The Constellation Program with Robotic Landers and Rovers (PDF) Prepared for the 2007 Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG) meeting, Houston, TX Precursor Research: Was there a Lunar Cataclysm 3.9 – 4.0 Billion Years Ago?2000 D. A. Kring, “Impact events and their effect on the origin, evolution, and distribution of life,” GSA Today 10, no. 8, pp. 1–7. Invited paper. 2000 B. A. Cohen, T. D. Swindle, and D. A. Kring, “Lunar meteorites support the lunar cataclysm hypothesis,” Science 290, pp. 1754–1756. 2002 D. A. Kring and B. A. Cohen, “Cataclysmic bombardment throughout the inner solar system 3.9-4.0 Ga, J. Geophys. Res. 107(E2), pp. 4-1 to 4–6, 10.1029/2001JE001529. 2002 I. J. Daubar, D. A. Kring, T. D. Swindle, and A. J. T. Jull, "Northwest Africa 482: A crystalline impact melt breccia from the lunar highlands," Meteoritics and Planetary Science 37, pp. 1797–1813, 2002. 2003 D. A. Kring, "Environmental consequences of impact cratering events as a function of ambient conditions on Earth," Astrobiology 3(1), pp. 133–152, 2003. Invited paper. 2004 H. Campins, T. D. Swindle, and D. A. Kring, "Evaluating comets as a source of Earth's water," in Cellular Origin and Life in Extreme Environments, volume 6, Origins: Genesis, Evolution and Diversity of Life, J. Seckbach (ed.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 569–591. Invited paper. 2005 B. A. Cohen, T. D. Swindle, and D. A. Kring, “Geochemistry and Ar-40-Ar-39 geochronology of impact melt clasts in lunar highlands meteorites: Implications for lunar bombardment history,” Meteoritics and Planetary Science 40, pp. 755–777. 2005 R.G. Strom, R. Maholtra, T. Ito, F. Yoshida, and D .A. Kring,, “The origin of planetary impactors in the inner solar system,” Science 309, pp. 1847–1850. 2008 I.S. Puchtel, R.J. Walker, O.B. James, and D.A. Kring, “Osmium isotope and highly siderophile element systematics of lunar impact melt breccias: Implications for the late accretion history of the Moon and Earth,” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 72, pp. 3022–3042. 2011 K. H. Joy, D. A. Kring, D. D. Bogard, D. S. McKay, and M. E. Zolensky, “Re-examination of the formation ages of the Apollo 16 regolith breccias,” Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 75, pp. 7208–7225. 2012 S. Marchi, W. F. Bottke, D. A. Kring, and A. Morbidelli, “The onset of the lunar cataclysm as recorded in its ancient crater populations,” Earth and Planetary Science Letters 325–326, pp. 27–38. 2012 K. H. Joy, M. E. Zolensky, K. Nagashima, G. R. Huss, D. K. Ross, D. S. McKay, and D. A. Kring, “Direct detection of projectile relics from the end of the lunar basin-forming epoch,” Science 336, pp. 1426–1429. 2012 A. Morbidelli, S. Marchi, W. F. Bottke, and D.A. Kring, “A sawtooth-like timeline for the first billion years of lunar bombardment,” Earth and Planetary Science Letters 355-356, pp. 144–151 Background BriefingsField and Sample Guidebook to Apollo Impact Melt Breccias Lunar Soil Physical Properties Lunar Crater Slopes and Surface Roughness Cinder Lake Crater Fields, Arizona: Lunar Analogue Test Site Expanding the Black Point Lava Flow Test Site to the West Potential Near-Earth Asteroid Test Sites within the Black Point Lava Flow Test Area Lunar Electric Rover (LER) and Crew Activities, Black Point Lava Flow Scale of Near-Earth Asteroids: A Rocky Mountain Perspective Impact Air Blasts Produced by Near-Earth Asteroids Links to Related PublicationsImpact Events and Their Effect on the Origin, Evolution, and Distribution of Life Testing the Lunar Cataclysm Hypothesis The Impact-Origin of Life Hypothesis Catalog of Apollo Lunar Surface Geological Sampling Tools and Containers Catalog of Apollo Experiment Operations Apollo 11 Preliminary Science Report Apollo 12 Preliminary Science Report Apollo 14 Preliminary Science Report Apollo 15 Preliminary Science Report Apollo 16 Preliminary Science Report Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report Links to LPI Lunar Resources Last
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“Eugene Cernan….the last man to set foot on the lunar surface…said as he left: “We leave as we came, and God willing as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.” America will make those words come true.