--- title: "NASA Funds Giant Radio Telescope Concept on Far Side of Moon" description: "The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program, an incubator for radically futuristic and otherworldly concepts, has awarded a Phase 1 grant for a Lunar Crater Radio Telescope (LCRT) on the far side of the Moon. According to a description by research lead Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay, robotics technologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, the idea […]" date: "2020-04-07" modified: "2020-04-07" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/nasa-radio-telescope-far-side-moon" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Science & Energy" - "Space" tags: - "far side" - "far side of the moon" - "NASA" - "radio telescope" - "SETI" --- # NASA Funds Giant Radio Telescope Concept on Far Side of Moon ![NASA has awarded a Phase 1 grant for a Lunar Crater Radio Telescope on the far side of the Moon that could one day be deployed by wall-climbing robots.]() *\Image: NASA/JPL-CalTech\* NASA is funding research for a giant radio telescope in a crater on the far side of the Moon. The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program, an incubator for radically futuristic and otherworldly concepts, has awarded a Phase 1 grant for what the agency calls the Lunar Crater Radio Telescope (LCRT) — an exciting idea that could be a major turning point in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, as *Wired*'s space and energy reporter Daniel Oberhaus [pointed out]() on Twitter. According to a [description]() by research lead Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay, robotics technologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, the idea is to capture the "tremendous advantages compared to Earth-based and Earth-orbiting telescopes" on the far side of the Moon, where researchers could observe the universe at much greater wavelengths than are normally reflected by Earth's atmosphere. These greater-than-10-meter long wavelengths have yet to be probed by humans and "could enable tremendous scientific discoveries in the field of cosmology," according to Bandyopadhyay. The Moon also "acts as a physical shield that isolates the lunar-surface telescope from radio interferences/noises from Earth-based sources... during the lunar night." And when the Earth stands between the Sun and Moon, the area facing the far side of the Moon acts as a kind of low noise radio emission shadow. ![]() The moonshot proposal — get it? — includes plans for a wire-mesh, a kilometer in diameter, that would be deployed by wall-climbing robots inside a large lunar crater. In other words, the plan is to cast a spider web-like mesh over an existing crater on the far side of the Moon to turn it into a gigantic radio telescope. "This Lunar Crater Radio Telescope (LCRT), with 1km diameter, will be the largest filled-aperture radio telescope in the Solar System!" reads the description. The idea has been around for a number of years, with [researchers arguing]() it could prove to be an extremely important scientific endeavor. The news comes also comes after China successfully [deployed]() a radio telescope attached to a communications relay satellite that is now in operation on the far side of the Moon. The radio frequencies it's sensitive to are, however, far shorter. **READ MORE:** [NIAC 2020 Phase I, Phase II and Phase III Selections]() \[NASA\] **More on SETI:** *[SETI Scientist: Nobody Takes Alien Hunting Seriously]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()