Possible configuration of the spacecraft - "South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return This mission would use robotic technology to gather samples from the Moon's South Pole-Aitken Basin and return them to Earth for study. The Aitken Basin, a massive impact crater on the Moon's far side, may provide access to samples of the lunar mantle, which could give scientists insight into the period of heavy bombardment early in our solar system's history.