CosmoCube Targets 13.5 Billion-Year Signal From Lunar Orbit With €50 Million-Class Mission
Updated
Updated · SciTechDaily · Aug 23
CosmoCube Targets 13.5 Billion-Year Signal From Lunar Orbit With €50 Million-Class Mission
3 articles · Updated · SciTechDaily · Aug 23
Summary
UK-led CosmoCube is being developed to orbit the Moon and hunt the first direct radio signal from the cosmic dark ages — a period roughly 150 million years before the first stars formed.
From the Moon’s far side, the suitcase-sized satellite would observe 10-50 MHz emissions for about 40 minutes each orbit, using the lunar body to block Earth’s ionosphere and man-made radio interference.
Over a planned two-year mission, researchers expect about 1,000 hours of data on the 21-centimeter hydrogen line, which could also help test how dark matter shaped the first stars and galaxies.
The team says precise onboard calibration and Bayesian signal separation are essential because the target signal is exceptionally faint and can be mimicked by spacecraft electronics or foreground radio waves from the Milky Way.
Backed by the UK Space Agency, the project has working prototypes and aims to launch within five years, as more countries eye the Moon’s far side before its radio-quiet environment becomes crowded.