Particle astronomy and particle physics from the moon: The particle observatory

Promising experiments from the Moon using particle detectors are discussed, noting the advantage of the large flux collecting power Pc~AΩt(m2-sr-years) offered by the remote, stable environment of a lunar base. An observatory class of particle experiments is presented, based upon proposals at NASA's recent Stanford workshop. They vary from neutrino astronomy, particle astrophysics, and cosmic ray experiments to space physics and fundamental physics experiments such as proton decay and ``table-top'' arrays. This research is background-limited on Earth, and it is awkward and unrealistic in Earth orbit. It is particularly suited for the Moon where Pc can be quite large and the instrumentation is not subject to atmospheric erosion as it is (for large t) in low Earth orbit.