The Plethora of Science Afforded by a Lunar Swirl : A White Paper to the Planetary Science Decadal Survey Committee

Whitepaper #166 submitted to the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032. Topics: surface/geological evolution; Mercury and/or the Moon; other science themes: Physics, Heliophysics, Magnetohydrodynamics, Volcanology, ISRU, Photometry Lunar swirls should be the top priority target of the next lunar mission. The swirls are a fascinating lunar feature, as well as a laboratory to study the solar wind, space weathering, plasma weathering, and plasma kinetics. In this white paper we present examples of broad scientific interest in lunar swirls as well as some example mission types.