5. Study catastrophe

The Moon's nearly pristine state means billions of years of asteroid impacts are preserved, as obvious scars on the surface. These craters hold a record of how frequently and intensely the inner solar system -- including Earth -- was peppered by asteroids through time.

Studying many of these craters up close -- from an Antarctica-like outpost -- would allow scientist to figure out if mass extinctions on Earth, including the death of dinosaurs that allowed the rise of mammals, were the result of single, large asteroid impacts, flurries of smaller assaults, or neither. An answer would impact many scientific fields.

"A lunar base could be designed that would benefit not just a few of us geeky planetary scientists who want to study lunar rocks, but a wide range of sciences -- biology, paleontology, planetary science, historical geology, and even exobiology," said Hartmann. "Is evolution of intelligent life primarily a question of surviving the cosmic shooting gallery that characterizes each extra-solar planetary system?"

Next page: Look outward