The Lunar Radio-Observatory

The New Kid on the Moon

Fifty years after the Lunar Radio Observatory was completed, radio-astronomer Arsames landed on the far side of the Moon. He would spent the next six months on Earth's only natural satellite. The lunar base which would be his home during this period, was located about 25 kilometers to the south of the Daedelus crater. Arsames' job was simple, he had to ensure the LRO was operated properly and to manage the collection of information.

Back on Earth thousands of scientists competed with each other for use time, in order to conduct their research. The enormous popularity of the LRO had caused scientists to propose a second radio telescope on the far-side of the Moon, using the Saha crater. Arsames knew it was only a matter of time before the LRO II would become reality.

In fact the Saha project was one of the reasons why Arsames had arrived at the Moon. Since the completion of the LRO, the world of spaceflight had changed completely. Nowadays there were several independent space colonies, mostly located at the Sun-Earth Lagrange points, or SEL in technical jargon. As a result of this development, the Moon had become the subject of a political battle between the Earth on one side and the Lagrangian colonists on the other one.

Arsames had never been a great supporter of the Lagrangian settlements, which were too libertarian in his opinion. But he knew that the LRO II could only be realized with a financial contribution of the Lagrangians. Nevertheless the Saha project would enable the terrestrial nations to strengthen their position on the Moon. It would mean a greater human presence there and most of them would come from Earth.

The LRO was, however, not the only man-made facility on the Moon. On the near side there were couple of tourist resorts. The Moon was, of course, a popular destination for terrestrial tourists, as other celestial bodies were too far away for a short holiday. As a scientist Arsames was not really happy about the Moon becoming a tourist destination and sooner or later, they would spread to the far side as well.

In a Moon rover Arsames and two colleagues traveled to the base, there they were welcomed by other astronomers. From the outside the base was far from remarkable, it looked like as just another hill. However, Arsames knew better. The actual base was deeply buried beneath Lunar soil, as a protection against cosmic radiation.

After he had passed the airlocks, the astronomer was shown his bedroom, a hutch which barely deserved the title. Nevertheless it provided a little bit of privacy and besides Arsames was anything but claustrophobic. Tired the astronomer took a quick shower before going to bed. Almost immediately he fell asleep.