Calls for protected moon sites

Astronomers are seeking the urgent protection of certain locations on the moon, which could be crucial for the deployment of scientific instruments such as a hypertelescope

LUNAR SITES OF EXTRAORDINARY SCIENTIFIC IMPORTANCE (SESI)
Radio waves
Mare Moscoviense 
Mendeleev 
Tsiolkovsky
Mare Ingenii 
Korolev 
Hertzsprung
Apollo 
Daedalus
Dark side of moon

Astronomers fear future missions with lunar satellites, rovers and mining will damage sites with vibrations and electromagnetic interference

HYPERTELESCOPE
Receiver: Mounted above dish on cables allowing it to steer

Reflector: Spherical dish built into moon crater

Dark side of moon is most radio-quiet place in solar system – moon’s mass (70bn tonnes) blocks radio interference from Earth

Radio waves

Earth
Moon

Note: Earth-moon distance not shown to scale

Photo illustration: Vladimir Vustyansky/NASA/JPL. Picture: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Sources: Guardian, Royal Astronomical Society