Farside Observatory

Those who know me know that one of the things I hope humanity builds at some point is an observatory on the far side of the moon.

The moon is tidally locked to Earth, meaning anything constructed on its far side has the bulk of the moon between it and our planet. This bulk blocks radio signals from Earth, making the lunar farside the perfect place for radio astronomy.

We now have our first radio observatory on the far side of the moon. As part of the Chang'e mission, the Netherlands-China Low Frequency Explorer (NCLE) will spend the lunar night sitting on the far side of the moon doing radio astronomy.

Obviously this is not the permanent facility I might envision as a science fiction writer, but it's a proof of concept that should give us useful science...and perhaps pave the way to such.

In Araña I called the first lunar farside settlement Chang'e City. Perhaps...