A British startup wants to build a cosmic radio station in the orbit of the moon to hear radio waves from the early universe.
The Blue Skies Space has secured a contract from the Italian space agency to design a brisk tiny satellite that could circle the moon and listen to signals from the cosmic “dark age”. This is the time before the first stars illuminated when the universe was mainly a swirling mass of hydrogen gas.
Hydrogen atoms naturally emit radio waves with a very specific frequency: 1420 MHz – known as TThe hydrogen line. If you stretch this signal over 13 billion years of cosmic expansion, it will be in the FM radio band (approximately 88-108MHz).
Thanks to all of our Radio Chatters, these old radio signals are almost impossible to see from the earth. But park a few satellites on the other side of the moon – – Away from this interference – –Could help scientists cut the sound and to struggle from the early universe.
This is what Blue Skies Space, the Italian Space Agency and the Space Company OHB Italia will examine as part of the joint project called Radioluna.
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The blue heavenly space will examine whether small, inexpensive cubesat builds from commercial, out-of-persistent partial survival and real science can make the moon freely. OHB Italia will find out how to build the spaceship.
The assignment of these signals could fill out the missing piece between the big bang and the first stars and show how the universe has developed from smooth hydrogen fog to the cosmic galaxy network that we see today.
Dr. Marcell Tessenyi, CEO and co -founder of Blue Skies Space told TNW, if the idea turns out to be feasible, this could lead to a commercial service.
“Depending on the technical feasibility, the financing landscape and the corresponding infrastructure, we assume that we can deliver such a system within five years of the end of the study,” he said.
Radioluna is not the only project that Blue Skies Space is working on. In October, the startup is scheduled to start its first satellite in orbit. The probe – Mauve – is a star gazing satellite that collects data to star in the visible and UV parts of the spectrum. Scientists and academics can then access the data for a small member fee.
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