Introduction

Because visible light only accounts for a tiny portion of electromagnetic spectrum, radio astronomy is an extremely important research enterprise that allows scientists to see new, invisible parts of the universe. In a similar vein, radio astronomy likely provides the only pathway for discerning the existence of extra-terrestrial intelligence in our universe. There is a growing problem with earthbound radio astronomy observatories, however. The phenomenal growth of wireless communications and noise-generating devices has polluted the radio spectrum with increasing amounts of man-made interference. Even in frequency bands that have been traditionally reserved for radio astronomers, man-made noise is creeping into the spectrum and making it impossible to resolve the faint signatures of distant radio-emitting bodies. Soon there will be no place on or around the earth that is possible to study this beautiful and invisible part of outer space.
There is one last chance for the radio astronomers, however. Earth has the incredible fortune of having its one and only natural satellite, the unnaturally large moon, locked in synchronous rotation. That is, the moon completes one rotation and one revolution about the earth at precisely equal periods. Thus, there is one side of the moon (the inappropriately named "dark side of the moon") that is perpetually facing away from the earth, shielded from manmade noise. One idea for greatly enhancing the prospects of radio astronomers is to build an astronomy on this far side of the moon and relay the collected radio data back to earth-based laboratories.

NASA has contracted my space consulting firm to design the radio frequency (RF) and communication system that will collect the radio astronomy data and relay it back to earth-based researchers. On these webpages you can find a presentation of my final design which tries to be the most reliable, low-cost, and functional radio observatory.