Characterising asteroidal and cometary material on the Moon and its value for future resource utilisation

Throughout solar system history thousands of asteroids and comets have struck the Moon, resulting in the heavily cratered surface we see today. There is growing evidence that some fraction of these bodies survive impact with the lunar surface. This is of interest for two reasons. Firstly, if impactor material can be recovered from the Moon it will yield valuable information about the composition of asteroids and comets passing through the inner solar system. Secondly, the remains of impacted asteroids and comets may provide local sources of raw materials which are naturally scarce on the Moon (e.g., depending on the composition of the impactor, native metals, carbon, nitrogen, organic molecules, and hydrated materials), but which will be very useful in the context of future human activities on the Moon. This project will investigate both aspects, but with a particular emphasis on the latter.