The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to address the topic of “Key Non-Polar Destinations across the Moon to Address Decadal-level Science Objectives with Human Explorers.” To address this topic, the committee will:

Define a strategy and provide a prioritized list of high-value human sortie destinations for lunar exploration across the Moon (except for the poles), along with any time-ordering constraints, using published documentation, expert testimony, and other input, as appropriate.

o A sortie is defined here as two crew members to the surface for 1-4 EVAs, destination-dependent.

o Site prioritization might be based on addressing single highest-priority objectives at a single destination.

o Discuss whether the number or sequence of destinations explored influences the prioritization, e.g., if exploration at one site would benefit from a preceding mission to another destination.

For each target destination identified, provide

o Key science objectives to be addressed at that location, tied to the National Academies report Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032 (OWL) and NASA’s Moon to Mars Objectives.

o Key measurements, made in situ, needed to achieve the identified science objectives.

o Key measurements that can or must be enabled via samples collected and returned to terrestrial labs to achieve the identified science objectives

o Justification for why these measurements or sample collection efforts would require or would most effectively be enabled by human explorers (as opposed to robotic rovers or sample return)

o Discussion of what, if any, pre-placed assets would be necessary or enabling to accomplish these measurements (e.g., tools, mobility devices, robotic hardware, and equipment delivered to the lunar surface prior to human landing)

o Key resources available at this destination that might be useful for in-situ resource utilization.

Produce a report that describes the recommended strategy, that also includes at a minimum:

o Science traceability matrices for each target destination.

o A visual summary of targeted geographic locations on the Moon and the associated key science objectives addressed.