David A. Kring

Indiana University, B.S. with Honors, Geology and Astrophysics, 1984
Harvard University, Ph.D., Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1989

Introduction

In 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

"Earthrise" over the lunar horizon as it appears from deep space. “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.

“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
January 14, 2004

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 Goals

Exploring 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

Lunar Spacecraft Architecture

Lunar 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.