Astronomers gathered at the Space Telescope Science Center: Must build observatories on the moon

About a quarter of the weight of the lunar spacecraft will be cargo, which also includes scientific experiments

The moon has very little atmosphere and a lot of dust. These are some of the things to consider this week at the Space Telescope Science Center, where astronomers discussed the opportunities offered by NASA's lunar return program, including the possibility of placing a telescope on the lunar surface. This is reported by the news agencies.

According to the scientists, the moon is a large, stable platform with little atmosphere that interferes with stargazing. However, the size of each lunar telescope, whether it will be built on Earth and raised to the Moon, or mounted on the Moon, and how it will be financed. All these things have not yet been determined.

Scott Horowitz, NASA's assistant administrator, told the group of astronomers that the American space agency is still in the initial stages of deciding on the launch of the next lunar spacecraft, but the agency seeks to develop significant capabilities to transport scientific instruments to the moon, living facilities and other cargo.

"We are building a truck and we will fill its trunk with everything we can," he said.

Of the 125 tons that the launcher is planned to lift, about a quarter will be cargo. Horowitz said.

We are still trying to check what the different alternatives of the landing vehicle are regarding the weight of the cargo. We still don't know what the exact number is." Horowitz said.

The meeting at the Space Telescope Science Center on the campus of Johns Hopkins University, which coordinates the use of the Hubble telescope, took place about a week before NASA is scheduled to unveil its return-to-the-moon strategy at a conference in Houston.

2/10/2002 Scientists: build an observatory on the moon