KEY POINTS:
British scientists yesterday put forward an ambitious plan to go to the Moon with a mission to send scientific instruments to study the lunar surface.
If the proposals are accepted by the Government and the European Space Agency (ESA) they could form the basis of the first British-led mission to the Moon.
Details of the plan emerged as part of a wider review of ESA's strategy over the next couple of decades to explore the Moon, Mars and nearby asteroids with intelligent robots, possibly culminating in manned missions and a joint lunar base by 2020.
The American National Aeronautics and Space Administration has already announced its intention to send men back to the Moon by 2020, and other countries, such as China, India and Japan, have also expressed an interest in collaborating on lunar exploration.
Britain's effort could materialise in the form of one of two small satellite missions called Moonlite and Moonraker which scientists hope will form part of ESA's strategy for future space exploration.
Moonlite involves firing four high-speed penetrators at the lunar surface to bury a network of instruments that could analyse the seismic activity of the Moon's rocky interior.
The second option, Moonraker, aims to mount geological-dating instruments on board a robotic rover vehicle which would be landed on the Moon in the first lunar soft landing by Europe.
"We have already completed a feasibility study of these two robotic missions to the surface of the Moon focussed on exploiting the UK's leadership in small satellites and miniaturised science instruments," said David Parker of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council.
"These are two ideas we've brought to the table. They are options that we could do but not necessarily what we should do," Dr Parker said.
There is a one in ten chance of the missions going ahead, he added.
Scientists are interested in the Moon because its geological features are as old or even older than the oldest rocks on Earth.
As such, the Moon represents an important "fossil" of the young Solar System from the time when the planets were forming.
"It's becoming quite clear that the Moon is almost unique in that it presents a record of what was going on in the early Solar System," said Dr John Zarnecki of the Open University, one of the scientists involved in formulating the satellite missions.
In addition to exploring lunar geology, scientists believe that future missions to the Moon could result in the establishment of a permanently-manned lunar base, as well as large-scale scientific experiments that could aid the exploration of Mars and the rest of the Solar System.
Dr Zarnecki said that studying the lunar surface and the rocks of nearby asteroids could help to explain how life began on Earth - whether for instance it was "seeded" by complex organic molecules from space.
Another plan is to put a large radio telescope on the far side of the Moon, which is free from the radio interference produced by human electronics on Earth.
One idea is to build it by rolling out layers of plastic sheets that would form the "dish" of the radio-telescope.
"To do radioastronomy on the Moon may be a bit like laying a carpet in your house," Dr Zarnecki said.
Tim Radford, a freelance consultant who is advising ESA on public attitudes, said that many people do not want Europe and Britain to be left out of any future manned missions to the Moon.
"Is the Moon going to become the eighth continent or the 51st US state? Are we all going to do it, or are we going to leave it to Nasa?" Mr Radford said.
"The great thing about exploration is that you don't know what you're going to find."
- INDEPENDENT
