Future science goals of in situ Lunar explorations

Many space agencies have now consolidated road-maps foreseeing intensive Lunar exploration during this and the next decades. The new era of Moon exploration is seen as a precursor of future more ambitious Mars missions and as such will imply intensive in situ activities involving both humans and rovers. Although the operational concepts will substantially change with respect to the Apollo era and a more immersive situation awareness even of scintists on the ground segment can be easily foreseeable, the main science goals will be largely represented by the open questions leaved behind in the Seventies and only partly covered by the following orbital and limited rover missions. They include the understanding of Lunar crustal and mantle evolutions, a better definition of its inner structure, volcanism and cratering history and the assessment of the regolith properties. To these subjects can be added some important ones more related to future settlements such as the Lunar volatiles and in situ resources. All these goals will greatly benefit of the involvement of astronauts and the use of flexible and managiable instrumention that should guarantee a prompt and correct sampling although not a comprehensive catherization of the Lunar materials.