No, this isn't
science fiction. It's about anticipated radio astronomy activities from the
dark side of the Moon. The AMSAT News Service reports that the International
Telecommunication Union has designated a "Shielded Zone of the Moon,"
and the related Space Frequency Coordination Group has proposed banning all
radio transmissions in that region between 300 MHz and 2 GHz, in order to
protect radio astronomy.
This proposed ban would affect Global Navigation
Satellite Systems (GNSS) as well as any amateur satellites in lunar orbit, such
as China's
Lunar-OSCAR-93 and -94. If approved, those satellites would not be able to
operate on the 435 or 1260-MHz amateur bands. The proposed ban would also apply
to satellites in Mars orbit, since Mars regularly passes through the shielded
zone.
