For peace and quiet, try the Moon
Astronomers are taking the search for somewhere quiet to work to new
extremes with a plan to put a radio telescope on the far side of the Moon.
The advantage of this unusual location is that the Moon would act as a
massive shield, protecting the telescope against radio emissions from
Earth. Astronomers could also listen to low radio frequencies that don’t
penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere.
Claudio Maccone, an astronomer at the Centre for Astrodynamics in Turin,
Italy, is assessing the concept for the International Academy of
Astronautics. He even has his eye on a plot of lunar real estate. A
100-kilometre-wide crater called Daedalus should provide enough space,
he says. The crater’s 3-kilometre-high rim should also help block any
stray radio signals that creep around the Moon to the far side.
"I do believe this will be built," says Maccone, although he admits it
will probably take at least 15 years. Even if robots were used to build
the observatory remotely, it would cost billions of dollars and need the
backing of a large space agency like NASA or the European Space Agency.
By the time the telescope could be built, the area of the Moon that’s
protected from radio waves is likely to be shrinking fast. This is
because as orbit space for telecommunications satellites gets used up,
they will have to be placed in higher orbits, so their radio emissions
will reach more and more of the Moon’s surface.
So Maccone also wants to give the region around the Daedalus crater some
form of protection status, to create a permanent quiet zone that would
be safe no matter what technology is developed in the future. "The far
side is in my opinion a unique treasure that should be preserved for
the sake of humankind," he says.
Setting up such a zone would probably be the responsibility of the
International Telecommunications Union, which allocates the rights
to use different radio frequencies. But it’s far from clear whose
permission would be needed to build a permanent structure on the Moon.
Maccone is due to present the results of his study to the International
Astronautical Congress next October. If the plans are approved, the
first step will be to design a satellite probe to orbit the Moon and
check there really is a quiet zone.
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Author: Duncan Graham-Rowe
New Scientist issue 5th January 2002
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