Key Takeaways:
- The urgency to conserve radio silence on the moon’s far side is emphasized, aiming to shield scientific activities from electromagnetic pollution.
- The symposium underscores the importance of global collaboration among scientific, political, and industrial communities to address concerns and establish protective measures for lunar exploration.
- Lunar missions are advancing scientific endeavors, particularly in radio astronomy, astrobiology, planetary defense, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, highlighting the significance of protecting the moon’s far side for groundbreaking research.
- There’s a call to enhance existing regulations and develop enforceable treaties to safeguard lunar radio silence zones, emphasizing diplomatic efforts among spacefaring nations and relevant international organizations.
- Coordination among space agencies and the formulation of unified policy approaches are deemed essential to prevent a fragmented approach to lunar exploration and ensure equitable access to lunar resources while preserving the moon’s scientific integrity.
A significant movement advocating for the conservation of radio silence on the distant side of the moon is gaining momentum.
An unprecedented international conference is presently underway, amplifying discussions on the necessity of reserving territory on the far side of the moon exclusively for scientific endeavors. Despite the vacuum surrounding the moon, there exists a sense of urgency surrounding this assembly.
Organized under the auspices of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), the inaugural IAA Moon Farside Protection Symposium is occurring from March 21-22 in Turin, Italy. The primary objective of this gathering is to awaken global awareness within the scientific, political, and industrial communities regarding a growing array of concerns.
Electromagnetic Pollution
The moon, Earth’s celestial neighbor, possesses the distinctive ability to naturally shield radio waves originating from Earth and its surroundings. Organizers of the conference propose the creation of a radio silence zone, commonly referred to as a shielded zone on the moon.
This concept has been championed by Claudio Maccone of the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF). In December 2021, the IAA established a permanent committee dedicated to the protection of the moon’s far side, with Maccone serving as the committee’s technical director.
Maccone and his colleagues argue that the far side of the moon represents an area of significant scientific interest due to its freedom from the electromagnetic pollution prevalent on Earth.
They highlight the increasing frequency of lunar missions by various nations, which could potentially compromise the current state of radio silence on the moon.
Several scientific disciplines stand to benefit greatly from operations on the far side, including cosmology, astrobiology, planetary defense, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Lunar Achievements According to Jack Burns, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder, scientific endeavors on the moon are already underway.
“Radio astronomy activities have commenced on the moon,” Burns affirms.
He points out that NASA’s first radio telescope, ROLSES, was recently transported to the lunar south pole by the Intuitive Machines Odysseus lander. Burns is a co-investigator on the ROLSES instrument currently deployed on the moon.
Furthermore, additional radio telescopes are scheduled to be delivered to the near side and far side of the moon by two other NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services landers in 2026: ROLSES-2 and the Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment — Night (LuSEE-Night), respectively. Burns also serves as a co-investigator on LuSEE-Night.
Years of Anticipation
“After many years of anticipation, we are actively conducting radio science activities on the moon. Therefore, we must also take proactive measures to safeguard, particularly, the far side of the moon from radio frequency interference originating from lunar orbiting satellites and surface infrastructure,” Burns informs Space.com.
The moon far side protection workshop taking place this week involves leading figures in science, engineering, space policy, and space law, according to Burns, with the aim of developing contemporary approaches to shield the far side of the moon from anthropogenic radio emissions.
“We must preserve the far side for groundbreaking scientific research, including the measurement of magnetic fields associated with potentially habitable exoplanets and the exploration of the mysteries of the unexplored Dark Ages of the early universe through low radio frequency observations,” Burns states.
Key Objectives
Several themes are central to this week’s symposium.
In delineating the benefits of a radio silence zone across various scientific disciplines, the IAA’s Maccone identifies key exploration objectives:
- Cosmology: Detecting the extremely faint radiation of the hydrogen line at 1,420 Megahertz and downshifting it to much lower frequencies. The radio silence of the lunar far side would represent a significant advancement in research.
- Astrobiology: Studying pre-biological interstellar molecules by searching for weak spectral lines using advanced radio telescopes in conjunction with the radio silence of the moon’s far side.
- Planetary Defense: Utilizing radar and optical telescopes on the far side for precise measurements of near-Earth objects to enhance the lead time for their detection and provide early warning of potential impacts.
- SETI and Technosignatures: Searching for “signatures” of extraterrestrial civilizations with minimal interference, as these signals would be extremely faint due to the vast distances between stars in the Milky Way, if not from other galaxies.
Protected Zone
According to Maccone, recent lunar missions and upcoming programs will introduce an increasing number of artificial systems around and on the lunar surface, occupying space and emitting radio waves at various frequencies.
International regulations and resolutions already exist to protect any shielded zone on the moon — referred to as SZM in lunar terminology — such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) radio regulations.
“However, it is crucial to take further steps, both to expand the protected frequencies to cover all other scientifically relevant frequencies — in addition to those already included — and to reserve a portion of the far side exclusively for scientific installations,” Maccone proposes.
Diplomatic Endeavors
According to Maccone, there is an urgent need to elevate regulations to enforceable and binding treaties for every space agency and private company.
He emphasizes that achieving all objectives necessitates diplomatic efforts involving current and future spacefaring nations from around the globe.
The newly established IAA committee and the ultimate objective of the symposium are aimed at facilitating the formation of an international agreement, ideally under the auspices of relevant specialized organizations such as the ITU and the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
Unified Expression
Richard Green, chair of the International Astronomical Union group addressing the challenges of conducting astronomy from the moon, underscores the significance of this meeting.
“I believe this meeting is crucial as it allows us to make progress towards a unified expression of astronomical requirements and recommended policy approaches for the moon,” Green asserts.
Additionally, Green notes an immediate opportunity to do so through a proposed United Nations space scientific and technical subcommittee action team.
This UN action team would explore communication and collaboration for lunar activities and may be endorsed at the upcoming full UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space meeting in June, Green observes.
Potential Challenges
“My concern is that lunar projects are advancing rapidly and lack coordination,” says Joseph Silk, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and a physics professor at the Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris.
Silk highlights the forefront position of scientific projects, such as unique radio telescopes capable of peering back into the early epochs of the universe. He emphasizes the distinct environment offered by the far side, noting that optical telescopes in permanently shadowed polar craters will eventually capture images of nearby exoplanets.
“However, we run the risk of encountering a scenario reminiscent of the Wild West due to competition between various space agencies and commercial interests,” Silk tells Space.com. “The number of desirable lunar sites is limited. The last major outer space treaty dates back to 1967 and lacks enforcement mechanisms. A new international space treaty is urgently required,” he concludes.
