On Tuesday 22 August 2006 approximately 40 people attended the Commission 41 History of Astronomy Business Meeting at the IAU XXVI General Assembly in Prague. Commission president Alex Gurshtein opened the meeting, welcoming the commission members and calling for a moment of silence for those members who passed away in the last triennium. David DeVorkin was appointed recording secretary for the meeting, with Steven Dick as the scruitineer of the ballot. A moment of silence was then observed in the memory of members departed over the last triennium, including: Jerzy Dobrzycki (Poland), Robert Duncan (Australia), Mohammad Edalati (Iran), Philip Morrison (USA), John Perdix (Australia), Neil Porter (Ireland), Gibson Reaves (USA), Brian Robinson (Australia), and Raymond E. White (USA).
The next generation of space vehicles will be capable of routinely carrying humans beyond the confines of the earth's gravitational field. Ambitious undertakings such as manned bases on the moon should greatly increase the scale and importance of constructive international interactions. At the present time the most appropriate arena for the closest cooperation in space seems to be scientific investigation. Achieving higher levels of cooperation in the grand schemes of future human exploration such as establishing human presence on Mars will require a buildup of interactions and trust through a series of programs of evolving complexity.In this paper we present a part of the case for developing lunar bases, with detailed emphasis on the astronomical opportunities which they offer. Reasons are given as to why the development should be international, along with suggestions as to steps which can be taken in the next few years to undertake this initial level of largescale space cooperation.
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