Back-side lunar observatory

This paper describes the engineering solutions to erect a back-side lunar observatory as a national asset. It describes landing at the lunar sites and methods of communicating data to and from Earth via comsats or a relay station on the Earth-side. The paper suggests a sequential construction of the sensor array, power supply, and communication equipment. It describes the likely revisits to the sites for periodic maintenance. The observatory is technically feasible and awaits a detailed design study to site the lunar equipment and choose among several alternatives, for example; the location of the array, the power supply and the communication channels. An Earth command center will be needed to archive and distribute data to principal investigators.