In a few years, a small radio telescope on the far side of the moon could help scientists look into the ancient past of the universe. The lunar probe, called Lunar Surface Electromagnetic Experiment-Night (LuSEE-Night), is a research project developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories, the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, and NASA. Management of the scientific mission.

LuSEE-Night is currently scheduled to launch on a special robotic Moon vehicle. by the end of 2025. after he touched back of the moonwill attempt to collect first-of-its-kind measurements from the “dark ages” of the universe.

The Dark Ages are the period in the early universe about 400,000 to 400 million years after the Big Bang. stars and galaxies began to form completely. On the far side of the Moon, LuSEE-Night will use onboard antennas, radio receivers and a spectrometer to measure weak radio waves from the dark. ages to search for what scientists call the Dark Age Signal.

“Until now, we’ve been able to make predictions about previous phases of the universe using a standard called cosmic. microwave background. The signal of the dark ages will provide a new benchmark.” Brookhaven physicist Ange Slosar said in a statement:.

“And if the predictions based on every test don’t match, it means we’ve discovered new physics.”

LuSEE-Night is not expected to make such big breakthroughs on its own; after all, it’s a pathfinder designed to pave the way for more ambitious vehicles in the future. According to team members, a larger project could shed light on big cosmic questions like nature. dark energy and the creation of the universe. The far side of the Moon is a great place to look for weak signals that may include such clues, because it offers something Earth cannot offer: deep, deep silence. The constant radio bombardment of our planet creates a very noisy environment for the use of ultra-sensitive LuSEE-Night devices. However, remote location also poses challenges.

Surviving there requires an engineering skill. Although sometimes incorrectly referred to as the “dark side” of the Moon, the portion of Earth’s natural satellite facing away from us in the night sky actually has a day/night cycle, with each phase lasting about 14 Earth days. Temperatures on the far side of the Moon range from about 250 to minus 280 degrees Fahrenheit (121 to minus 173 degrees Celsius).

So LuSEE-Night must be designed to withstand two weeks of intense, relentless, uninterrupted moonlight on the lunar day, while also surviving two weeks of bitter cold darkness, and doing so over and over. The estimated lifetime of the mission on the lunar surface is two years.

“In addition to the significant potential science output, the demonstration of LuSEE-Night’s lunar night survival technology is critical to conducting long-term, high-priority science studies from the lunar surface,” said Joel Kearns, NASA’s deputy director for science. . Mission office said in the same message.

When ready, LuSEE-Night will launch on the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) mission, a NASA initiative that allows “rapid acquisition of moon delivery services from US payload companies that expand opportunities for science, research, or the Moon,” according to the space agency’s website. ‘s commercial discovery.