Tiny satellite will use the dark side of the moon to eavesdrop on whispers from the early universe

A tiny UK-developed satellite, called CosmoCube, will use the far side of the moon to listen for the 21-centimeter signal from the early universe. The satellite, roughly the size of a small carry-on suitcase, will be shielded from Earth's noise for 40 minutes each 2-hour orbit. The mission, led by the University of Cambridge, aims to detect the faint signal from the cosmic dark ages, a period before the first stars appeared. The satellite will collect 1,000 hours of data over a 2-year mission to understand how the universe transitioned from dark and nearly empty to the complex state we see today. The satellite will operate at extremely low frequencies, between 10 and 50 MHz, to avoid interference from Earth-based telescopes. The mission is funded by the UK Space Agency and aims to be launched within five years.

• CosmoCube will be shielded from Earth's noise for 40 minutes each 2-hour orbit.
• The satellite will collect 1,000 hours of data over a 2-year mission.
• The satellite will operate at frequencies between 10 and 50 MHz to avoid interference from Earth-based telescopes.
• The mission is led by the University of Cambridge and funded by the UK Space Agency.

The satellite will use the far side of the moon as a shield to detect the 21-centimeter signal from the early universe. The mission is expected to help understand the role of dark matter in the early universe and how it helped form the first stars and galaxies. The satellite will use a "Dicke switched" calibrator to correct its own electronics and cancel out noise. The satellite will use advanced Bayesian statistical methods to remove foreground noise and reconstruct how the antenna responds to different parts of the sky. The satellite will be developed by Surrey Space Technology Limited (SSTL) in the UK, with academic partners including Portsmouth University and STFC RAL Space. The satellite is expected to be launched within five years and could be a real UK success story.

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