NASA gives an overview of the mission,

Using a suite of seven instruments, LRO will help identify safe landing sites for future human explorers, locate potential resources, characterize the radiation environment and test new technology. LCROSS will seek a definitive answer about the presence of water ice at the lunar poles. LCROSS will use the spent second stage Atlas Centaur rocket in an unprecedented way that will culminate with two spectacular impacts on the moon’s surface.

Below are animations of how the journey to the moon and how the LRO will analyze Luna’s surface.

Here’s another one on how the LRO will orbit the moon and scan the lunar surface. It is amazing how much the orbiter will be able to scan in so little time

More on LRO

NASA's Scarab Prototype in Testing

NASA’s Lunar rover prototype, Scarab, is designed to carry a drill and do exploratory drilling on the Moon. The rover is specially designed for the Moon’s surface and includes sophisticated tires designed to operate on the (pressure-less) Lunar surface and achieve high traction.

The drill can take samples of the Moons surface up to about one meter in depth. Once the sample is drilled, the rover crushes the sample and tests it with on-board lab equipment to determine how good the site may be for a future Moon base. The samples are tested for minerals as well as gases.

Watch this interesting video about Scarab’s mission and how it was designed.