The Far Side Residents’ Association has called for a minimum of fourteen days’ notice before any future crewed lunar flyby, following what its chair described as “a lovely scientific achievement at a very inconvenient time.”
Reviewing this year’s Artemis II mission at its autumn meeting, the association agreed that exploration should be encouraged, but that several residents had been hanging their human suits out to dry.
“You assume you have some privacy on the far side of a celestial body,” said chairperson Norma Crater. “Then suddenly everyone has a camera.”
Members voted to replace reflective garden ornaments, repaint the community centre in a less conspicuous shade of regolith, and stop leaving the recycling bins in a line that spells WELCOME.
One resident proposed a formal greeting for the next visitors. The motion failed after the hospitality committee estimated the cost of refreshments for an unspecified number of future humans.
The association stressed that it has nothing against astronauts. Several members have followed their work for years and would be happy to wave, provided this could be done without generating paperwork.
A reminder attached to the minutes asks residents to stop reporting every passing spacecraft as an unauthorized delivery vehicle.
The next meeting will take place behind the large rock, as usual.