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P.S. COLUMN ARCHIVE

November 24, 2005

Discussion on building an astronomical observatory on lunar surface

I’ve been to Hawaii on Nov. 18th, 19th and 20th. There was held a workshop to talk about the plan of building International Lunar Observatory, of which the organizer invited me to join. The workshop is not organized by such public institutes like NASA or JAXA but by private company called, “Space Age Publishing Company”. The host invited American companies and individual researchers interested in lunar observatory from all over the world to discuss scientific research by using lunar observatory and also about technology needed for construction as well as financial problem.

Among them all, a research report by the company called “Space Dev” who built the rocket for the SpaceShipOne, the first space traveling vehicle by a private company, was brought to attention of the participants. According to the report, they said they could build a landing vehicle, with cost of only about 5 billion yen, on a top of sunny crater all throughout a year in the vicinity of the South Pole of moon where the landing vehicle can survive for about two weeks. It is an attractive idea indeed to use such a landing vehicle as the first pilot observatory before constructing a full-scaled International Observatory.

There was another interesting proposition, which proposes to deliver by spaceship a light source of about 100 watts with green colored laser beam with which to build a lighthouse on moon. It will be as visible from earth as equivalent to a star of the 7th magnitude so that even a small telescope will catch its light from everywhere in the world. If the light is blinked on and off, it will be practically used for Morse code so that it can be applied for sending images and commercial messages. The proponent of this idea said a great number of children from all over the world would, at least, watch lunar face with their telescopes in their hands.

Upon having heard this report, I made a comment to the proponent that the lunar lighthouse will not only be a target of children’s interest but will be worthy enough to provide for scientific data even to specialists. I said so because we can examine the movement of lunar poles by measuring precisely the location of a light source. Rotational axis of moon slightly wobbles like that of the earth. We will be able to derive information about inner structures of moon and earth by carefully studying this polar motion. The idea of monitoring the lunar polar motion to study the internal structure of the moon is indeed adopted in Japanese future lunar exploration project.

The organizer of the workshop and Space Dev people argue to build an observatory on the lunar surface by 2008. A major question is how to raise fund. This kind of project would not be possibly realized before 2008, if we wait for help from government and 5 billion yen will become eventually not sufficient enough. I thought probably the best way would be to organize a project team for International Observatory by calling upon private companies, world wide, that are interested in the challenge to future as well as for their financial investment in the project. In the case of Olympics, leading companies of the world help International Olympic Committee (IOC) by contributing a large sum of fund for the purpose of their propaganda campaign. The same system might be possibly applied to the project of building International Observatory on the lunar surface. Yes, we establish International Lunar Observatory Committee (ILOC). Like Olympics is held once in four years, ILOC may launch rocket to moon at the rate of also once in four years, then the day may come even for NASA and JAXA to be somehow compelled to participate in the project.

I hope the day will soon come for lunar landing vehicle to be launched by private entity and lunar observatory will really come into existence. At the same time, government owned institutes like NASA and JAXA would efficiently carry out lunar exploration missions on a competitive basis with private sectors. If government organizations take leadership in the field of pure scientific research like lunar exploration not easily paying off commercially, then co-existing activities both for government and private sectors will be smoothly carried out for entire space developments through sharing technology and information between them.

Please send your comments, if any, to pscolumn@planetary.or.jp

(Translated by The Planetary Society of Japan)