NASA: That’s No Moon …That’s a Telescope!
Star Wars fans, rejoice! NASA has plans to transform Earth’s moon into a giant telescope that will look like a certain space station/galactic super weapon from the beloved sci-fi franchise.
NASA recently awarded a $125 000 grant for an incredible project that intends to insert a kilometre-wide Lunar Crater Radio Telescope (LCRT) into a crater on the infamous far side of the moon, so as to limit all the noises and disruptions from Earth.
Although still in the initial phases – as researchers have been given nine months to test viability for development – the intention is to land a probe within the crater, then use rovers to unfold the mesh antenna.
The plan could see the crater shaped in such a way that it resembles the ‘Death Star’ from the “Star Wars” film series.
The brain behind the project, Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay, said: “An ultra-long wavelength radio telescope on the far side of the moon has tremendous advantages compared to Earth-based and Earth-orbiting telescopes.”
Bandyopadhyay elaborated that the LCRT could advance scientific knowledge in the field of cosmology by observing the universe in previously unexplored wavelength bands.
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