March 16-17, 2019 (just prior to LPSC 50)

The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center
1601 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands, Texas, USA

On the basis of the first half-century of lunar exploration, we can now identify a series of transformative lunar science (TLS) questions to address in the coming decades. A critical step along that pathway was taken with NASA’s selection of new partners for commercial payload delivery services to the Moon.  Nine US companies are eligible to bid on NASA delivery services through Commercial Lunar Payloads Services (CLPS) contracts (https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/774/nasa-announces-new-partnerships-for-commercial-lunar-payload-delivery-services/). 

In Microsymposium 60, Forward to the Moon to Stay: Undertaking Transformative Lunar Science with Commercial Partners, key scientists will define and discuss the major outstanding transformative lunar science (TLS) questions, focusing on identifying the most important immediate steps that can be taken to address them.

In order to familiarize the community with the CLPS opportunities, representatives of the designated Commercial Lunar Payloads Services (CLPS) providers have been invited to give brief summaries of their plans and capabilities of their delivery platforms.  SpaceX, a non-CLPS lunar service provider, will also be giving a presentation.

We plan to have “lighting talks” for individuals to present ideas and concepts for experiments, payloads and missions to team with our CLPS partners (if interested, send a candidate title and author list to [email protected]).

The goal of Microsymposium 60 is to provide a framework of mutual communication and understanding that will form a basis for Transformative Lunar Science to be undertaken in the immediate future and beyond, with the help of our CLPS partners. 

Further information and registration details can be found at http://www.planetary.brown.edu/html_pages/micro60.htm

We look forward to seeing you there!  Jim Head and Carle Pieters