6. Look outward

Astronomers would love to set up observatories on the Moon. Optical telescopes could be placed almost anywhere on the lunar surface and, since there's almost no atmosphere to scatter light, they'd get clear, Hubble-like views of the cosmos.

Astronomers could build scopes that are far larger than Hubble, too.

Radio telescopes -- the sort used both in conventional astronomy and in the search for possible signals from other civilizations -- could be placed on the far side of the Moon. There they would be shielded from all the radio noise of Earth.

Critics argue that these telescopes could be deployed robotically and run remotely.

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