Webcams are everywhere else, so why not a webcam on the moon?
A joint private-sector venture by the International Lunar Observatory Association and Moon Express, Inc. of Silicon Valley intends to land a telescope on the moon by 2015.
Calling it “citizen science” on the Earth’s natural satellite, Moon Express CEO Bob Richards said that the telescope will even be open to the public by remote control: “This will be a small, but very high-performance telescope on the moon that the public and scientists or professionals and amateurs alike will have access to over the internet.”
Richards and his colleagues have beta-tested the telescope, International Lunar Observator precursor (ILO-X), and its internet software at the summit of the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii and it apparently passed with flying colors. Noting that the project does not rely on government funding, Richards explained that this is “a real example of how the private commercial space sector can benefit science and education.”
The telescope — which has been in the works for about two years — may be small , but it packs a punch: “The ILO-X is a tiny little sucker, about the size of a shoebox, and its camera has a mere 6.4-megapixel resolution. But the goal isn’t to be the best telescope out there. The aim is to be a lunar telescope anyone can use.”
The telescope was designed by Moon Express to capture images of the lunar surface as well as visuals of Earth and other planets. Presumably there is a plan in place that would allow millions of internet users to be able to get their individual turn at the controls without crashing any servers.
As part of this venture, Moon Express is in the running for the Google Lunar X Prize which will award $20 million “to the first privately funded team to land a robot on the moon.”
Eventually, Moon Express wants to establish a permanent lunar telescope at the moon’s south pole.
Are you excited about the idea of a webcam on the moon?
