Moon Seen as Astronomical Outpost

Moon Seen as Astronomical Outpost
Mon Nov 17, 4:46 PM ET

By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer, SPACE.com

The barren Moon could become an astronomer's paradise, an ideal spot for telescopes and other devices to scope out the heavens as never before.

Creating the lunar lookout is one proposal under review during the weeklong fifth gathering of the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) being held this week on the Kohala Coast, Hawai'i Island. Astronauts, scientists and engineers, as well as business people and entrepreneurs are sharing ways to convert the bleak Moon into a bustling, off-Earth continent for scientific research, technology testing, producing energy, even as practice ground for future expeditions to Mars.

Representatives from various spacefaring nations, including China, India, and Japan are taking part in the event, seeking to develop global and inter-global partnerships to further a lunar exploration agenda

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The rest of the article goes a little more in-depth than that. It also addresses the fact that NASA seems to have some kind of irrational fear against returning to the moon.

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