Human habitats: prospects for infrastructure supporting astronomy from the Moon.
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci
; 379(2188): 20190568, 2021 Jan 11.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33222635
ABSTRACT
There is strong interest in lunar exploration from governmental space agencies, private companies and the public. NASA is about to send humans to the lunar surface again within the next few years, and ESA has proposed the concept of the Moon Village, with the goal of a sustainable human presence and activity on the lunar surface. Although construction of the infrastructure for this permanent human settlement is envisaged for the end of this decade by many, there is no definite mission plan yet. While this may be unsatisfactory for the impatient, this fact actually carries great potential this is the optimal time to develop a forward-looking science input and influence mission planning. Based on data from recent missions (SMART-1, Kaguya, Chang'E, Chandrayaan-1 and LRO) as well as simulation campaigns (e.g. ILEWG EuroMoonMars), we provide initial input on how astronomy could be incorporated into a future Moon Village, and how the presence of humans (and robots) on the Moon could help deploy and maintain astronomical hardware. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Astronomy from the Moon the next decades'.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Astronomy
/
Space Flight
/
Moon
/
Extraterrestrial Environment
Limits:
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci
Journal subject:
BIOFISICA
/
ENGENHARIA BIOMEDICA
Year:
2021
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: