Everyone calls it the "dark side." It isn't. Not really.
If you were standing on the far side of the moon right now, you’d see the sun rise and set just like you would on the side we see from Earth. It’s only "dark" to our eyes because it faces away from us. It’s a radio-silent, crater-scarred wilderness that humans didn't even lay eyes on until 1959.
We’re obsessed with it. For decades, pop culture painted it as a base for aliens or a secret Nazi hideout. The reality is actually much weirder and, honestly, more scientifically significant than any sci-fi script.
Tidal Locking and the Great Illusion
You might wonder why we never see the back of the moon. It’s a phenomenon called tidal locking.
Basically, the moon rotates on its axis at the exact same speed it orbits Earth. Imagine walking around a chair while always keeping your face pointed at the seat. Your back is always hidden from the center. That’s the moon. Because of this gravitational dance, 41% of the lunar surface stays hidden from terrestrial telescopes forever.
Why it looks so different
The first time the Soviet Luna 3 probe beamed back grainy photos of the far side, scientists were floored. They expected it to look like the "near side"—the side with the "Man in the Moon."
It didn't.
The near side is covered in maria—those vast, dark, flat plains of basaltic lava. The far side? It’s almost entirely rugged highlands and craters. It’s like two different worlds were stitched together. This asymmetry is one of the biggest headaches in lunar science.
One leading theory, championed by researchers like Erik Asphaug, suggests a "Big Splat." Billions of years ago, Earth might have had two moons. The smaller one eventually collided with the larger one, essentially "pasting" a thick layer of crust onto what is now the far side.
The Von Kármán Crater and China's Big Move
For a long time, the far side of the moon was just a place we flew over or crashed into. That changed in January 2019.
China’s Chang’e 4 mission did what NASA and the Soviets hadn't: it landed. Specifically, it touched down in the Von Kármán crater within the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin.
This isn't just any hole in the ground. The SPA basin is one of the largest, deepest, and oldest impact craters in the solar system. It’s about 1,600 miles wide. Because it’s so deep, it might have exposed the moon’s mantle. The Yutu-2 rover has been trundling around over there for years now, finding minerals like olivine and low-calcium pyroxene that shouldn't be on the surface.
Landing there is a nightmare.
You can't talk to Earth from the far side. The moon itself blocks radio signals. To fix this, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) had to park a relay satellite called Queqiao in a specific spot (the L2 Lagrange point) to bounce signals back home. It’s a high-wire act of orbital mechanics.
Why Astronomers Are Begging for Radio Silence
If you’re a radio astronomer, the far side of the moon is the most valuable real estate in the universe.
Earth is loud. We’ve filled our atmosphere with "noise" from Wi-Fi, cell towers, satellites, and radio stations. This makes it incredibly hard to hear the very faint, low-frequency signals from the early universe—the "Dark Ages" before the first stars formed.
The far side is the only place in our vicinity that is shielded from Earth’s electronic chatter. It’s a Radio Quiet Zone.
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The LuSEE-Night Project
NASA and the Department of Energy are currently working on LuSEE-Night (Lunar Surface Electromagnetics Experiment-Night). They want to drop a pathfinder telescope on the far side to see if they can pick up signals from 13 billion years ago.
It’s a brutal environment. The lunar night lasts 14 Earth days, and temperatures plummet to -173°C. Batteries die. Electronics crack. If LuSEE-Night survives, it could rewrite our understanding of how the Big Bang actually cooled down into the universe we see today.
Misconceptions That Just Won't Die
Let's clear the air on a few things.
- It’s not dark. Every part of the moon gets two weeks of sunlight followed by two weeks of night. During a New Moon (when we can't see the moon), the far side is actually in full, blinding sunlight.
- Aliens aren't there. We have high-resolution imagery of every square inch of the far side thanks to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). No glass domes. No pyramids. Just rocks and dust.
- It’s not "The Dark Side of the Moon." Pink Floyd made a great album, but the term is a misnomer. Astronomers almost exclusively use "far side."
The Future: A New Space Race?
The far side is no longer just a curiosity. It’s a strategic point of interest for the Artemis program and future international lunar bases.
Water ice is the big prize.
Near the lunar south pole, some craters on the far side are in permanent shadow. They haven't seen sunlight in billions of years. We know there is water ice there. If we can mine that ice, we can make oxygen and rocket fuel (hydrogen).
The far side could become the "gas station" for missions to Mars.
Actionable Steps for the Amateur Astronomer
You can’t see the far side with a backyard telescope, but you can understand it better.
- Track the Libration: The moon doesn't just sit still; it "wobbles" slightly. This is called libration. Because of this, we can actually see about 59% of the moon’s surface over time, meaning we occasionally peek around the "corner" of the far side. Check a lunar calendar to see when the moon is at its maximum libration.
- Use NASA’s LROC QuickMap: This is a free web tool. You can zoom in on the far side and see the actual tracks left by the Yutu-2 rover in the Von Kármán crater. It’s better than any map you’ll find in a book.
- Monitor the Lunar Gateway: Keep an eye on news regarding the Lunar Gateway, a planned space station that will orbit the moon. Its orbit (Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit) is specifically designed to provide constant communication with the far side, paving the way for more robotic and eventually human landings.
The far side is the ultimate shield. It protects us from the harshness of the universe while simultaneously hiding the secrets of our own origin. As we move into the late 2020s, expect to hear much more about the "quiet" side of our neighbor. It’s about to get very loud.
Next Steps for Deep Diving:
- Study the SPA Basin: Research the South Pole-Aitken basin to understand why geologists believe it holds the key to the moon's internal composition.
- Follow the L2 Missions: Track upcoming missions from India (ISRO) and Japan (JAXA) that are targeting the lunar poles and far side regions for soil sampling.
- Understand Radio Astronomy: Look into the "Quiet Side" legislation being discussed by international space agencies to ensure the far side remains free from satellite interference.