I assume this was a case of &quot;we&#x27;re sending a probe to the moon, what else can we put on it?&quot; rather than &quot;we want to put a telescope on the moon, let&#x27;s send it on a probe&quot;.<p>In principle having a telescope on the Moon gives you a longer continuous period of observation (and a longer period of inability to observe) for a single object, when compared to a telescope in geosynchronous orbit. Roughly speaking, the continuously obserable stretches for an object on the celestial equator would be ~28x longer for a telescope on the far side of the moon (of course, this particular telescope+probe is on the near side). This is just that the Moon takes ~28x longer to go around the Earth&#x27;s center of mass, compared to a satellite in geosynchronous orbit.<p>Thinking about future applicatoins, if humans ever put a base on the Moon, a telescope on the surface would be far easier to maintain&#x2F;upgrade than one in orbit. So, it is potentially worth testing small telescopes there now to determine their performance in that environment&#x2F;location.