From Scientific American:听As countries and private companies race to return to the moon, the need to protect the lunar far side鈥攖he hemisphere of Earth鈥檚 companion that always faces away from our planet鈥攃ontinues to grow. For decades, scientists have argued that the far side鈥檚 unique combination of accessibility and isolation makes it vital real estate for a plethora of space science activities. Nevertheless, the quickening pace of public and private lunar exploration could soon overwhelm this viewpoint.
At least, that possibility is feared by Claudio Maccone, a space scientist at Italy鈥檚 National Institute for Astrophysics. He is also a member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), which aired his concerns鈥攁nd potential solutions鈥攁t a meeting held via teleconference on March 25.
Maccone鈥檚 preferred approach to preserving the far side鈥檚 sanctity would be a so-called protected antipode circle, or PAC, a circular piece of terrain measuring roughly 1,820 kilometers in diameter in that hemisphere. Near the center of the proposed PAC site lies the 80-kilometer-wide Daedalus Crater, a lunar feature with a rim high enough to act as a shield against electromagnetic interference for any astronomical observatories situated inside it. 鈥淲e want to protect the lunar far side鈥攚hich is ideal for a future radio telescope or phased-array detectors鈥攆rom any human-made radio pollution,鈥� Maccone says.