LOUISA - A lunar optical-ultraviolet-infrared synthesis array

The emplacement of an optical wavelength interferometric array on the lunar surface is proposed. It will consist of 42 1.5-m mirrors distributed in two concentric circles with an outer diameter of 10-km. The resolution of LOUISA will be 10 microarcsec at a wavelength of 0.5 microns - a factor of 4100 times better than the HST. With such a resolution, astronomers will be able to image earthlike extrasolar planets, active regions on other stars, and collimated outflows from young stellar objects and the nuclei of active galaxies.