Geology and Absolute Model Ages of the Rima Bode Region -a Candidate Future Lunar Landing Site

International audienceIntroduction: ESA is currently exploring plans to utilize the European Large Lunar Lander (EL3) for science-driven missions that will allow us to bring about 1.5 tons of payload to the lunar surface. A first mission to a polar landing site is scheduled for 2029. This mission will not carry a rover but subsequent missions in the 2030’s will be more complex and comprehensive and will include a rover. Considering the large payload mass, we explore the scientific potential of a rover that will be able to travel 10s -100s of kilometers, have night survival capabilities, and carry a comprehensive suite of instruments (e.g., LIBS, Raman, IR-spectrometer, multispectral stereo cameras) to characterize and pre-select interesting samples. A novelty of our concept is that we propose to continuously operate certain instruments while roving. For example, a continuously operated ground-penetrating radar would yield information on the sub-surface regolith structure and an IR-spectrometer would produce mineralogical/compositional profiles along rover path