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Contributing to The Moon

First off, thank you for your interest in contributing to the Moon! This project has been running for 4.51 billion years and we appreciate all the help we can get.

How to Contribute

Sample Return Missions

If you're planning a sample return mission:

  1. Check existing collections first: Apollo (382 kg), Luna (326 g), and Chang'e 5 (1,731 g) have covered many regions. Avoid redundant sampling unless you have a novel target.
  2. Target underrepresented terrains: Far side highlands, South Pole-Aitken Basin floor, polar volatiles, and young irregular mare patches (IMPs) are high priority.
  3. Document your landing site: Include coordinates, geological context, and expected age range.
  4. Handle with care: Lunar samples are irreplaceable. Use cleanroom facilities. No direct handling with ungloved hands (looking at you, Apollo 12 beanie incident).

Impact Crater Naming

We follow IAU nomenclature standards:

  • Craters > ~60 km: Named after scientists, philosophers, and explorers.
  • Craters < ~60 km: Named after common first names (near side) or scientists (far side).
  • No living politicians. No self-naming. No NFTs.
  • Propose names via the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature.

Orbital Insertion

If you're inserting a new satellite into lunar orbit:

  • Low Lunar Orbit (LLO): 50–200 km altitude. Watch out for mascons — they will perturb your orbit.
  • Frozen Orbits: Highly recommended for long-term missions. Inclination ~27°, ~50°, ~76°, or ~86°.
  • Halo Orbits: For relay satellites (e.g., Queqiao). Stable around Earth-Moon L2.
  • Polar Orbits: Essential for illumination mapping and water ice detection.

Surface Operations

  • Daytime operations: Surface temperature reaches 120°C. Thermal management required.
  • Nighttime operations: Surface temperature drops to -130°C. Batteries and electronics need survival heaters.
  • Regolith: It's sharp. It's electrostatic. It gets into everything. Design seals accordingly.
  • Dust mitigation: Still an open problem. If you solve it, you will be famous.

Code of Conduct

This project is governed by the CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md. By participating, you agree to:

  • Respect all celestial bodies, regardless of mass or orbital eccentricity.
  • No littering. Remove your derelict spacecraft and upper stages when possible.
  • No unauthorized nuclear devices (see: Outer Space Treaty).
  • Share your data. Proprietary data embargoes longer than 6 months are frowned upon.

Development Environment

Required Tools

  • Telescope (aperture ≥ 80 mm for visual, ≥ 200 mm for serious work)
  • Spectrometer (for surface composition)
  • Laser altimeter (for topography)
  • Mass spectrometer (for exosphere studies, if you can find one)
  • Seismometer (for moonquake detection — please install more of these)

Building from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/solarsystem/the-moon.git
cd the-moon

# Check out specific era
git checkout v1.2.0  # Imbrium impact era

# Build documentation
make docs

# Run tests
make test  # Warning: some tests take ~4.5 billion years

Reporting Bugs

If you find a bug (e.g., unexpected tectonic activity, anomalous heat signatures, unauthorized impacts):

  1. Check Known Issues to see if it's already documented.
  2. Include coordinates, timestamp, and observation method.
  3. Attach images or spectra if available.
  4. Tag with appropriate label: impact, volcanism, tectonic, regolith, or human-error.

Feature Requests

We are not currently accepting feature requests for:

  • Atmosphere (breaking change, rejected)
  • Magnetic dynamo (thermal budget insufficient, rejected)
  • Major orbital changes (would destabilize Earth climate, rejected)
  • Artificial lighting (light pollution concerns, rejected)

We are accepting feature requests for:

  • Additional seismic stations
  • Polar ice mining infrastructure
  • Far side radio telescope arrays
  • Mass driver launch systems

Recognition

Contributors will be recognized in peer-reviewed literature and, if they discover something significant, may have a crater named after them (posthumously, usually).

Thank you for helping make the Moon a better place!