The Lunar Science Conference at NASA Ames Research Center, which runs through Wednesday, was designed to give scientists an opportunity to review the state of knowledge of the moon, the evolution of the solar system, effects of the lunar environment on humans and robots, and opportunities for using the moon as a platform for performing scientific investigations, NASA said in a news release.

"We're revitalizing the lunar community because we want to do more than just bring back more moon rocks," NASA scientist Christopher P. McKay told the San Francisco Chronicle.