NRL to design lunar telescope to see into the dark ages

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The crater Tsiolkovsky is a relatively level region on the far side of the Moon. A lander would deposit a series of rovers which would then move out and unroll a set of arms containing individual antennas. The astronomical signals picked up by the an ...
The crater Tsiolkovsky is a relatively level region on the far side of the Moon. A lander would deposit a series of rovers, which would then move out and unroll a set of arms containing individual antennas. The astronomical signals picked up by the antennas would be transmitted to back to the central lander for processing. Credit: NRL

A team of scientists and engineers led by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) will study how to design a telescope on the Moon for peering into the last unexplored epoch in the Universe’s history. NASA has announced that it will sponsor a series of studies focusing on next-generation space missions for astronomy. These studies will contribute to the Decadal Survey, an effort undertaken every 10 years by astronomers and physicists to help establish priorities for future research directions in astronomy and astrophysics. The upcoming Decadal Survey occurs over the next two years.


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All News summaries for March 11, 2008

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