[X] My Assistant

[RNeuhaus]

I found an interesting article from one of USMF member : Philip Stooke.

He points that one of the best place for man landing on the moon is on the South Pole - Aitken Basin .

Much of the area around the Moon's south pole is within the South Pole-Aitken Basin (shown at left in blue on a lunar topography image), a giant impact crater 1,550 miles (2,500 kilometers) in diameter and 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) deep at its lowest point. Many smaller craters exist on the floor of this basin. Many of those craters never see sunlight and are thought to contain water ice. Credit: NASA/National Space Science Data Center.

The ubication of South Pole-Aitken Basin ranges from around 6.49 degree South up to 27.65 degree south.

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/lunar_or...lst_nam.shtml?S
South Pole-Aitken / I-028-M 10.23°S/153.78°W
I-030-M 10.27°S/162.7°W
I-035-M 8.72°S/162.6°W
I-036-M 8.65°S/162.1°W
I-037-M 7.98°S/157.76°W
I-038-M 7.9°S/157.26°W
I-039-M 6.49°S/149.05°W
I-040-M 6.44°S/148.73°W
II-033-M 10.39°S/174.07°E
II-075-M 21.21°S/157.99°E
V-026-H1 27.65°S/125.06°W
V-026-H2 27.65°S/125.06°W
V-030-H2 25.79°S/139.3°W

The above indexed colorful map looks it is located lower than 60 degree south.

Rodolfo

[dvandorn]

Yes, as I understand it, the Luna sample return landers had to land in places where the ascent stage could simply thrust directly to zenith for a given amount of time, and it would not only return safely to Earth, it would land within the Soviet Union.

Obviously, this was done for a number of reasons, including maximizing the chances of a successful return and reducing the weight of the Earth return vehicle. But with a steerable vehicle, you expand your landing site selections enormously -- and many of the sites in the expanded area require little more total energy to return to Earth. They just require inertial guidance, three-axis stabilization and an ability to steer a rocket burn.

I guess it all comes down to your mass budget -- how much you can land on the lunar surface in the first place, and how much you can blast back towards the Earth. If you can afford the mass, you increase your exploration options *enormously* if you can fly a steered ascent.

-the other Doug