Training New Explorers for the Surfaces of the Moon, Mars, and Beyond
October 15, 2010
Tomorrow, a NASA-sponsored Field Training and Research Program begins at Meteor Crater, Arizona. The field training will be led by Dr. David Kring, a geologist and Senior Staff Scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas.
Twenty-four Ph.D. and Master’s degree-seeking students from across the U.S., and the world, have been selected to be a part of this week-long training program beginning October 16 and ending October 24, 2010. Students will be trained on how craters on Earth and the Moon form, which should better prepare them in impact-cratered terrain, whether on Earth, the Moon, Mars, or some other solar system planetary surface.
Because the Moon has an exquisitely preserved impact cratering record, it is the best and most accessible place in the solar system to explore the fundamental principles of our origins. To prepare for that exploration, the next generation of scientists and astronauts are being trained to work in impact-cratered terrain such as that found at Meteor Crater.
To view a 3-D flyover movie of Meteor Crater, visit
For more lunar resources, visit
Center for Lunar Science and Exploration
Last updated October 15, 2010
