2022), Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) and Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission (Saiki et al. 2019), the European Space Agency's (ESA) PROSPECT instrument (Sefton-Nash et al. As a result, the south polar region of the Moon is an area of interest for multiple future missions, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Artemis program (NASA Artemis Program 2020), the Volatile Investigation Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) mission (Colaprete et al. Deposits of water ice and other volatiles provide an opportunity to address numerous science objectives recognized as important by the lunar community (e.g., "The lunar poles are special environments that may bear witness to the volatile flux over the latter part of the solar system history " National Research Council 2007 Crawford 2015 Pieters et al. We are developing a concept of operations called the Leto mission for a green reconnaissance approach to robotically access the Marius Hills sublunarean void. This is described as a “green reconnaissance” approach to lunar exploration and exploitation, which seeks to address such contamination factors as sprayed rocket exhaust and sublimating water in order to preserve science fidelity. We make the case for Marius Hills to be a high-priority landing site and present elements of lunar data analysis, instrument/payload concepts, science justification for robotic missions, and thematic geologic reconnaissance and remote sensing that should be conducted prior to any construction or emplacement of infrastructure. The discovery of a lava tube opening or pit at Marius Hills in Oceanus Procellarum is compelling motivation for robotic and eventually human exploration missions to these sites for in situ investigations and site assessments to determine viability for habitation and utilization of lunar resources. Lava tubes are potentially important sites for the long-term human presence on the Moon because they provide shelter from surface hazards, including micrometeorites, radiation, extreme temperatures, and dust.
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