Lunar Opportunities for SETI

TL;DR

Placing a radio telescope on the Moon's far side offers a promising, interference-free platform for SETI, with feasible technical and financial prospects within the next decade.

Contribution

This paper reviews lunar SETI benefits, compares surface and orbit telescope designs, and argues for the scientific feasibility of lunar radio astronomy for SETI.

Findings

Lunar far side provides RFI shielding for SETI

Lunar telescopes are technically feasible within a decade

Financially viable lunar SETI initiatives are possible

Abstract

A radio telescope placed in lunar orbit, or on the surface of the Moon's farside, could be of great value to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). The advantage of such a telescope is that it would be shielded by the body of the Moon from terrestrial sources of radio frequency interference (RFI). While RFI can be identified and ignored by other fields of radio astronomy, the possible spectral similarity between human and alien-generated radio emission makes the abundance of artificial radio emission on and around the Earth a significant complicating factor for SETI. A Moon-based telescope would avoid this challenge. In this paper, we review existing literature on Moon-based radio astronomy, discuss the benefits of lunar SETI, contrast possible surface- and orbit-based telescope designs, and argue that such initiatives are scientifically feasible, both technically and financially, within the next decade.