ENDURANCE SCIENCE WORKSHOP, Aug 9-11, 2023, Pasadena, CA/virtual

The Lunar and Planetary Institute will hold the Endurance Science Workshop in a hybrid format from August 9-11, 2023. The in-person event will be at the Cahill Center on the California Institute of Technology campus, 1216 E. California Blvd, Pasadena, CA.

More information and registration instructions are on the event’s website, which says:

Purpose and Scope

The goal of this workshop is to bring the planetary science community together to explore and refine the science that could be achieved by the Endurance mission concept.

Endurance is a mission concept to explore and ultimately return samples from the Moon’s largest and oldest impact basin, South Pole-Aitken (SPA). SPA holds the answers to many outstanding planetary science questions, including the earliest bombardment and dynamics of the Solar System and the evolution of the interior structure of the Moon. Endurance would address these questions by traversing 2,000 km across the lunar far side, collecting a large mass of samples, and delivering those samples to Artemis astronauts for return to Earth. Endurance was identified as the highest priority strategic mission for NASA’s Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program in the recent Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey (2023–2032).

This workshop aims to bring together scientists and engineers to discuss all aspects of this concept although science is the emphasis. Topics to be discussed are envisioned to include the science case for SPA sample return, next-generation sample analyses, instruments, traverses, in situ science, synergies with human exploration, and more.

This workshop will produce a report which will feed forward to planning the Endurance concept, including informing future mission concepts and science definition activities.