Ian Crawford and John Zarnecki report on an RAS Specialist Discussion Meeting held on 14 December 2007. A return to the Moon will confer scientific benefits in several different fields. Although the principal beneficiary is likely to be planetary science, the lunar surface also offers advantages for observational astronomy and future plans for lunar exploration should take these into account.
The authors concluded that the consensus of the meeting was that the lunar surface offers significant advantages as an observing platform for some areas of observational astronomy, especially low-frequency radio astronomy and observations of the Earth and its magnetosphere. For optical and infrared astronomy, and especially interferometry at these wavelengths, further studies need to be performed to assess the pros and cons of lunar-based observatories compared with free-flying space-based instruments. In addition, more work needs to be done in characterizing the suitability (“site testing”) of the lunar surface for astronomical observations at all wavelengths. However, there was general agreement that opportunities for conducting astronomical observations from the Moon should be allowed for in the developing international strategy for lunar exploration.
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