Vaguely related have you seen this amazing photo of the far side of the moon captured in 2015 by NASA Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite as it passed in front of Earth?<p>* <a href="https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/psd/solar/internal_resources/673/Moon_Far_Side_in_Front_of_Earth-1.png" rel="nofollow">https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/...</a><p>* <a href="https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/psd/solar/2023/09/d/dscovrepicmoontransitfull.gif" rel="nofollow">https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/psd/sola...</a><p>* <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/from-a-million-miles-away-nasa-camera-shows-moon-crossing-face-of-earth/" rel="nofollow">https://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/from-a-million-miles-away-...</a><p>* <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/resource/from-a-million-miles-away-moon-crossing-face-of-earth/" rel="nofollow">https://science.nasa.gov/resource/from-a-million-miles-away-...</a>
How much carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere for a single rocket launch? How much labor and natural resources does it cost?<p>I think it's extremely selfish to expect others to expend so much energy and time to carry your remains so far away, when you wouldn't know the difference.<p>I also think seeing night lights from a city on the moon would be pretty cool.
> I propose that we all agree to ban all permanent lunar development that is visible with the naked eye from Earth.<p>...with no proposal to weigh the value of the development against against the value of good taste or nebulously defined compassion. To suppose that no such development with greater value is possible betrays a poverty of imagination.<p>IMHO it is authoritarian to constrain the actions of others on the basis of taste and beauty. I don't dismiss their value, I just place it lower than the value of independent agency, as opposed to "you can't do that because I don't like how it looks." A better reason should be needed. That's true of putting a poster on the wall, let alone preemptively blocking huge communal projects.
> so why not agree to leave it unmarred by any obvious act of humanity, forevermore?<p>How some people hate humanity. Personally, I'd love to see the lights from a lunar colony on the moon.<p>This reminds me of the people who don't want to "pollute" Mars. Sheesh, it's a dead rock. There is no environment to pollute. It could desperately use people on it, just like the moon.<p>The solar system is ours, and we can and should do what we want to it. Not cower in self-hatred and loathing.
There is no far side of the moon, really. Matter of fact, from a cosmic perspective it's pretty nearby. The only thing that makes it look far is that we're so small.