In today’s space era, the moon is undoubtedly the best place to go. International space agencies and private companies are racing to reach the lunar surface, hoping to establish a permanent presence on Earth’s natural satellite, propelling them to more distant celestial stops. All the increased activity on the moon could affect the unique radio silence on the far side, which is an ideal location for radio telescopes to pick up weak signals from the cosmic past.
This week, the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) held its first Seminar on Protection of the Far Side of the Moon Advocating for radio silence on the far side of the moon in Italy. The workshop hopes to raise awareness of threats to the far side of the moon and develop ways to protect it from artificial radio radiation.
It’s a noble cause, but whether scientists like it or not, the halcyon days on the far other side are coming to an end. We are entering a phase where continued communication with our assets in the lunar environment, including astronauts, becomes critical.
quiet place
The far side of the Moon always faces away from the Earth, so it is not affected by Earth’s radio flutter or man-made frequencies. This makes it a perfect place to set up a radio telescope because it’s close enough to Earth without being constantly bombarded by terrestrial disturbances that would weaken telescopes on the ground or in orbit around the Earth.
NASA has shown interest in exploiting lunar radio silence, proposing to build an ultra-long wavelength radio telescope in a crater on the far side of the moon. According to reports, the Lunar Crater Radio Telescope is designed to observe the universe at frequencies below 30 megahertz. Since these signals are reflected by the Earth’s ionosphere, these frequencies have been largely unexplored by humans. NASA.
At these low frequencies, radio telescopes on the moon can detect near-Earth objects approaching Earth before other observatories, search for signals from extraterrestrial civilizations, and study organic molecules in interstellar space.
The IAA wrote in a statement: “The purpose of this symposium is therefore to make the global scientific, political and industrial communities aware of the need to maintain radio silence on frequencies relevant for scientific purposes at a distance and to openly participate in it .” “It is intended to prevent future missions from irreversibly compromising the current radio-quiet situation.”
bring noise
However, as more and more missions head to the moon, this perfect silence is increasingly being compromised.
For example, earlier this week, China roll out A satellite used to relay communications between ground operations on Earth and upcoming missions to the far side of the Moon.Queqiao-2 is the first of a constellation of satellites that China hopes to deploy by 2040 to communicate with China Future manned missions On the moon and Mars.
related articles: CAPSTONE becomes first probe to enter orbit around the moon’s unique rings
As part of the Artemis program, NASA aims to build lunar portal, a space station designed to orbit the moon to support future missions to the lunar surface and Mars. Prior to this, a NASA-funded CubeSat called CAPSTONE has entered a unique halo orbit to prove the stability and practicality of this orbit for future lunar missions; CubeSats are supporting sustainable, long-term lunar exploration and most importantly paves the way for communication. In fact, CAPSTONE marks the beginning of a great undertaking – to establish a permanent communication link between Earth and lunar assets and ensure a stable, uninterrupted data flow.
NASA and China Lunar exploration plans are surprisingly similarand the Moon is currently a “free-for-all” nation, with no rules on who can own our dusty orbiting companion.
In other words, things are going to get really loud in terms of radio transmissions. Astronomers are understandably concerned about how this could affect future observations of the universe, and argue that it might be time to come up with some regulations to protect the moon and other celestial bodies. This may or may not be possible, and it certainly won’t be easy.
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