00:00 Right now NASA scientists are planning the Artemis mission, set to send astronauts back
00:04 to the moon for the first time in over 50 years.
00:07 It's all part of the preliminary steps to set up a moon base.
00:09 But now experts say it might also be a great place for a great big telescope.
00:14 Experts have long proposed setting up radio telescopes on the lunar surface, ones that
00:18 could look deep into space and take readings from distant exoplanets and beyond.
00:22 But now a new study published in Archive suggests a conventional telescope would also be beneficial.
00:27 They see the moon as the perfect spot, because they could build the giant telescope inside
00:31 a large crater, using the moon's distinct Swiss cheese-like surface to our advantage.
00:36 The authors of the paper say it would be easier to construct than one of this size on Earth,
00:40 and while it would accumulate dust over time, it would happen much slower than here.
00:43 However, there's a newly discovered hurdle it would also have to contend with - seismic
00:47 activity.
00:48 The Indian Space Research Organization's Lunar Lander recently detected a moonquake,
00:52 and while not quite as intense as the ones on our planet, it still needs consideration.
00:57 (upbeat music)
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