Using the Moon to Explore the Entire Solar System

Synopsis: The Moon is the best and most accessible place to explore the origin and evolution of the entire Solar System, including the earliest evolutionary phase of our own planet, Earth, a period of time that has since been erased from the surface of the Earth. The Apollo program taught us that the dominant geologic process affecting the surfaces of planets is impact cratering. It has the capacity to affect the geologic and biologic evolution of a planet. Moreover, the impact cratering record provides the clock used to determine the ages of geologic processes on Mars and elsewhere. Variations in that flux of debris can also be used to trace the accretional and orbital evolution of material throughout the solar system, including the distant gas giants in the outer solar system. A compelling case can be made that the Moon is the shortest and least expensive route to a fundamental change in our understanding of our origins.