Is modern astronomy about to take a significant step forward by opening a window into the universe’s most enigmatic period, the Dark Ages? “Yes,” NASA and the scientists on the LuSEE Night mission want to believe. This lunar radio telescope technology demonstration mission includes a science component to test two pairs of antennas designed to detect frequencies believed to have been emitted during this period of the Middle Ages.
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As Jean Schneider, researcher at the Paris Observatory, explains to us, to make progress on the big questions in astronomy, such as life on certain exoplanets or dark matter, it will ultimately require high angular resolution and a mirror-sized surface area and access to the entire optical spectrum. If the future giant observatories that will be built on Earth “will enable many scientific advances,” the Moon, with its unique conditions, is also an ideal place to install an observatory because it will be possible to “carry out observations that are of are not possible from Earth”. ” . The lack of an atmosphere around the Moon “allows access to the entire spectral band” and its low gravity “facilitates the installation of very large instruments and affects their longevity due to the possibility of repairing and improving them in the field,” I would like to emphasize from Jean Cutter.
When Jean Schneider advocates for “the installation of a giant telescope on the far side of the Moon, operating in the visible and infrared ranges,” as part of ESA’s “Journey 2050” call for ideas, NASA has decided to direct its efforts in the development of technologies useful for the installation of a radio telescope.
Astronomer Jean Schneider explains in detail the project of a giant telescope on the moon
A groundbreaking mission and project
Before considering the installation of an observatory on the Moon, several preliminary missions are required to validate various technologies required for its operation. It is not surprising that the Americans are the most advanced in this field and the LuSEE Night mission is among the projects being examined. Funded by NASA and the Department of Energy, this unique mission to the Moon aims to test several technologies that could be used for a lunar radio telescope. Specifically, two pairs of radio antennas and batteries will be tested to see whether they can function effectively in the icy conditions of the lunar night, where the temperature can reach as low as -170 degrees Celsius.
Two pairs of antennas are revolutionizing modern astronomy
This mission is not just a technology demonstration. It is also of great scientific interest as these pairs of antennas, which are 6 meters long when unfolded, are intended to enable the detection of radio waves from the Middle Ages. At least that is the challenge of the antenna scientific team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).
As Kaja Rotermund, a postdoctoral fellow at Berkeley Lab working on the antennas, explains, this mission must show whether “we can make such observations from a place we’ve never been before, and also in a frequency range that we “We have never been able to observe.” The purpose of this experiment is to find out whether LuSEE-Night will be able to “capture frequencies between 0.5 and 50 megahertz,” which is where we are during this period expect radiation.
“We can make these kinds of observations from a place we’ve never been before, and also for a frequency range we’ve never been able to observe before.”
On Earth, the atmosphere and terrestrial radio interference make reception of these frequencies impossible, which is obviously not the case on the far side of the Moon, where the radio waves emitted by Earth are blocked, which is why this particular location was chosen. However, the project’s scientific team is aware that LuSEE-Night “is above all a technological mission” and emphasizes that “a larger and more sensitive telescope than the LuSEE-Night antennas may be required to obtain information from the Middle Ages recognize.”
Experience the 400 million years in the history of the universe that we have never seen before
The Dark Age is a period in the history of the universe that began only about 13.4 billion years ago, very shortly after the Big Bang (about 300,000 years), which coincided with the spread of cosmic rays and appeared hot and opaque. They end with the formation of the first luminous objects, when the first stars and galaxies form. Little is known about this time. Everything that happened before is forever obscured by this completely opaque “wall”.
This mission will launch in 2025 aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost commercial lander. It is expected to last at least 18 months, which makes it possible to check the proper functioning of the batteries during lunar nights, which, as you remember, last about two weeks. To relay this data and communicate with Earth, LuSEE-Night must use a relay satellite.