Surface Examination of the LCROSS impact site, Would direct examination be productive scientifically? Options

[pilotpirx]

As a follow on to the LCROSS impact mission, I propose a near-term (<1000 days from today to launch) lunar landing mission be dispatched to examine the impact site for distribution of volatiles in the impact crater and at nearby locations. The instrumentation should be modest, based on established rover designs, use RTGs and have trenching and volatile analysis capatility. Near real-time control capability would be possible. Perhaps a stripped down version of Mars Surface Laboratory could be considered.

[ElkGroveDan]

It's all about costs and tradeoffs. The mission you describe could be designed with present technology but the cost and other priorities preclude such a thing. There are other missions planned for some time already in the pipeline waiting for their share of ever-scarce $$$$ not to mention other scarcities such as launch vehicles which are more or less booked for the near term.

The fact is that we can all dream up useful missions with RTGs and rover capabilities but science returned vs. time, man hours and money spent will always be a gauntlet that such missions must run. Ultimately, no one is sitting around wondering, "Gosh what kind of spacecraft can I build, launch and operate to investigate something interesting." There are plenty of ideas already on the drawing boards for missions to return way more science for the money spent than the one outlined above.

[pilotpirx]

Thanks, you've made great points about cost and competing missions. That being said, in terms of science, the LCROSS impact obtained a uniquely positive result. Most likely, the impacter did not strike the highest volatile concentration within the immediate area. Trenching and other techniques in the impact area could reveal layering and indicate depths and a distribution gradient.