Astronomers want to get in on NASA's push to the moon

[Judi Lynn]

By Meghan Bartels 15 hours ago

NASA wants to go to the moon, and astrophysicists want their instruments to ride along, too.

The details are still in flux, as scientists are figuring out what makes the most sense given the scientific and logistical constraints of the moon. But they're confident that NASA's current priorities at the moon offer benefits that would support their goals. The agency's priorities are embodied by the Artemis program, which aims to land humans on the moon in 2024 in a sustainable, long-term way that offers a future for science as well as exploration.

"Heavy launch capability, astronauts, serviceability, in-space assembly — all of those things are things that we care deeply about," Heidi Hammel, a planetary astronomer at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy said during the Lunar Surface Science Virtual Workshop held on May 28. "And they are a core part of the return to the moon initiative."

A few telescopes have already operated on the moon. NASA's Apollo 16 mission in 1972 carried an ultraviolet telescope that astronaut John Young used to image nebulas, stars and Earth's atmosphere. China's Chang'e-3 mission, which landed on the moon in 2013, also carried an ultraviolet telescope.

More:
https://www.space.com/astronomers-want-telescopes-on-the-moon.html