The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, working with members of the scientific community, has determined that early manned lunar exploration will be oriented primarily to investigations in the geosciences. Exploration by man on the lunar surface will, therefore be geological, geophysical, geochemical, geochemical, and surveying in nature, and will be directed to the physical and chemical characteristics of the lunar crust, and to measurements that will furnish data pertinent to understanding the physics of the Moon. Scientific exploration of the Moon will provide information fundamental to understanding the origin and composition of the Solar System, and engineering data important to the design of specific scientific investigations and of missions of long duration that might exploit the Moon's lack of atmosphere, low gravity, and relative nearness to Earth.