NASA will build a radio telescope on the moon; Will Britain also join NASA's lunar program?

The London Times claims in yesterday's news that a huge radio telescope will be built on the moon as part of Operation Orion, which includes a return to the moon

NASA plans to build the world's largest radio telescope on the lunar surface as part of the 2018 lunar mission, the British Times reports. Also, in Britain, the possibility of cooperation with NASA in the manned exploration of the moon is being investigated.
Dr. Mike Griffin, head of NASA, said that the construction of a telescope is integrated into NASA's lunar mission. The purpose of the construction is the advancement of the scientific research of space, which will help shape the continued exploration of space by man. A radio telescope on the moon will allow astronomers and astrophysicists to look further into space and better understand the history of the universe and its physical laws.

Ian Morison, a radio astronomer at the Jodrell Bank Space Observatory in Cheshire, told The Times that a radio telescope on the moon would get rid of atmospheric disturbances and those caused by man-made radio radiation.

"The great advantage of the idea is that there will be no radio interference as in the case of KDA. At the moment there are windows in the spectrum (referring to certain frequencies of the radio-SS radiation) that we can observe on the moon but cannot here (on KDA). The moon is a wonderful place to place a telescope."

Will Britain also send astronauts to the moon together with NASA?

The British Ministry of Trade and Industry said yesterday (November 30.11) that it is possible that British astronauts will join the lunar missions as part of the collaboration with NASA. This side is a change in British space policy, which until now has focused on unmanned space exploration missions.

This will require a large financial investment from the UK, but the possibility was raised at a meeting between Dr. Griffin and Malcolm Wicks, the British Science Minister, held yesterday (30.11/XNUMX). A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Industry stated that the possibility of cooperation is not ruled out at this stage. "The issue was raised several times by NASA. The ministers and officials will look into the issue," the announcement said. If cooperation is decided, the requirements for British citizens joining NASA as astronauts to obtain American citizenship will end.

Speaking about Britain's participation in missions to the moon, Weeks said it was exciting to discuss this possibility with NASA. "We are looking into the possibility, and we want British businessmen and scientists to benefit from the program."

The news in Times.com
Astronomers gathered at the Space Telescope Science Center: Must build observatories on the moon

to the space destination site of Semyon Semyonov