Why could cold lunar polar regions be useful sites for infrared telescopes?

Cold lunar polar regions are highly advantageous sites for infrared telescopes because they provide a naturally cryogenic environment that minimizes interference from heat.1

To observe the cosmos in infrared and millimeter-wavelength regions, astronomers require instruments that are cold enough to limit the noise generated by the telescope's own thermal radiation. While space-based infrared observatories typically rely on cryogenic coolants to reach these low temperatures, these supplies are finite and eventually run out.12

In contrast, a telescope permanently sited in a lunar polar cold trap—where temperatures can drop to 40 K or lower—could remain passively cooled by the environment. By being insulated from local heat sources, such an instrument could maintain the necessary low operating temperatures without the need for expendable coolants. Although a single telescope at a pole would be limited to viewing less than half the sky, placing instruments at both lunar poles would enable uninterrupted observation of any object above the horizon.1