Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: NASA

The Moon’s farside needs protection!

Because Earth’s neighboring celestial body has the distinctive property of naturally shielding radio waves generated by chatter on Earth and around it, researchers are calling for a radio silence zone, dubbing it a Shielded Zone on the Moon, or SZM in lunar lingo.

Next year, the first International Congress of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) on Moon farside protection will take place in Turin, Italy.

Image credit: IAA/Committee on Moon Farside Protection

Branches of science

Leading the discussion is Claudio Maccone of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (National Institute for Astrophysics).

In December 2021, the IAA established a new permanent committee devoted to the Moon farside protection, chaired by Maccone and co- chaired by Jack Burns of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Maccone and colleagues contend that the Moon’s farside is a region of utmost scientific interest, as it provides an environment free from the electromagnetic pollution typical on Earth.

In particular, some of the branches of science that would greatly benefit from operating from the farside, Maccone explains, are cosmology, astrobiology, planetary defense, and the search for SETI technosignatures.

The lunar farside as imaged by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter using its LROC Wide Angle Camera.
Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University

Radio silence zone

In defining how those science branches benefit by a radio silence zone, Maccone points out:

Cosmology: To detect the extremely feeble radiation of the hydrogen line at 1420
megahertz (MHz), downshifted to much lower frequencies, MHz or kilohertz (kHz), due to the 14 billion years of universe expansion. The radio silence of the farside would ensure a significant leap forward in research.

Astrobiology: To study pre-biological interstellar molecules through their roto-vibrational spectra: a fine search for weak spectral lines that can be supported by advanced radio telescopes in combination with the radio silence of the Moon farside.

Planetary defense: From the Moon farside, radar and optical telescopes can be used for accurate measurements, without interference, of the main parameters of near-Earth objects (NEOs) to increase the lead time of detection.

Credit: Breakthrough Listen

SETI and technosignatures: To search, with very low noise, for “signatures” of alien civilizations that would reach us extremely faint due to the vast distances between stars in the Milky Way, if not from other galaxies.

Relevant frequencies

“Recent lunar missions and, even more so, upcoming programs will bring more and more artificial systems around and on the lunar surface, occupying space and emitting radio waves at various frequencies,” Maccone explains.

The Moon farside protection symposium, to be held March 21-22, is designed to sensitize and openly involve the global scientific, political, and industrial community on the need to preserve radio silence on the farside, Maccone adds, at frequencies relevant for scientific purposes.

Doing so can prevent future missions from irreversibly compromising the current condition of radio quietness.

Credit: Breakthrough Listen/Danielle Futselaar

Protected area

Moreover, to ensure the possibility of performing scientific activities, there is a desire to establish a portion of the Moon’s farside exclusively dedicated to science as a protected area.

There are already international regulations and resolutions aimed at protecting the SZM, such as International Telecommunication Union (ITU) radio regulations.

“However, it is of paramount importance to take a further step, both to extend the protected frequencies to encompass all other scientifically relevant ones — in addition to those already included — and to preserve a portion of the farside exclusively for scientific installations,” Maccone suggests.

Furthermore, there is a pressing need to elevate these regulations into enforceable and binding treaties for every space agency and private company.

Credit: United Nations

Diplomatic efforts

“All objectives can only be pursued and achieved through diplomatic efforts involving spacefaring nations, current and future, from around the world.

The newly formed IAA committee and the symposium’s ultimate goal is to soon reach an international agreement, ideally under relevant specialized organizations, such as the ITU and the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, for example.

For more information on the 1st International IAA Symposium on Moon Farside Protection contact: desk@moonfarsideprotection.org

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