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Title: Constraining Solar System impact history and evolution of the terrestrial planets with exploration of and samples from the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin
Primary Author: Brad Jolliff
Secondary Author(s): Noah Petro, Leon Alkalai, Carlton Allen, Irene Antonenko, Lars Borg, William Bottke, Barbara Cohen, Michael Duke, Amy Fagan, Bernard Foing, Lisa Gaddis, John Gruener, Justin Hagerty, James Head III, Harold Hiesinger, Peter Isaacson, Randy Korotev, Georgiana Kramer, Samuel Lawrence, Gary Lofgren, Tomas Magna, Clive Neal, Marc Norman, Larry Nyquist, Gordon Osinski, Dimitri Papanastassiou, Carle Pieters, Bhairavi Shankar, Tim Swindle, G. Jeffrey Taylor, Allan Treiman, Paul Warren, Mark Wieczorek, Ryan Zeigler, Nicolle Zellner
Institution: Washington University, Goddard Space Flight Center
Date: September 15, 2009
Summary: A fundamental issue of Solar System science is determining the early history of the terrestrial planets, including giant impact bombardment and the evolution of differentiated crust. Exploration and sampling of the Moon’s South Pole–Aitken Basin can illuminate these formative planetary processes.
Panel Selection: Inner Planets: Mercury, Venus, and the Moon.
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These documents have been prepared in coordination with the National Academies of Science in support of the National Academies Planetary Science Decadal Survey. These documents are being made available for information purposes only, and any views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of NASA, JPL, or the California Institute of Technology.