Physics of plasma–surface–exosphere–dust coupling at the lunar surface for future exploration programmes

Exploration of the Moon provides opportunities to investigate the deep space environment upstream of the geospace and the terrestrial magnetosphere and associated space weather phenomena. Moreover, the Moon interaction with the solar wind adds novel, interdisciplinary aspects to fundamental space research: a complex coupling between the solar wind/magnetospheric plasma – energetic particles – exosphere – dust – solid-surface – mini-magnetosphere. As the Moon is the next step in space exploration, characterizing the environment provides vital support to this endeavor. We note that investigations in this area of science are invaluable in providing a characterization of the environment for the needs of human exploration. On the other hand,  the lunar environment is fragile against human activities. For example, the total mass of the lunar atmosphere is of the order of 10 tons. Therefore, the environment will change drastically once human activity starts on the lunar surface. It is significantly essential to characterize the environment before the fragile lunar atmosphere is “contaminated” by human activities at the surface.
With these aspects as a background, we formed an ESA topical team to formulate scientific questions in space plasma physics that can be uniquely investigated on or near the lunar surface. We also derived the required measurements, which can be addressed by lunar missions in the short and long term, including the EL3 (European Logistic Lunar Lander) mission. This presentation introduces the background scientific context and describes the derived scientific concepts.