In a collaborative effort, researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder, Arizona State University, California Institute of Technology, University of California Berkeley, and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center have proposed an ambitious project called FarView. This initiative aims to deploy a low-frequency radio interferometer on the far side of the Moon, leveraging the Moon’s unique radio-quiet environment to open a new window for astronomical observations.
The FarView project, as outlined in a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal, proposes the deployment of 100,000 crossed dipole antennas on the lunar far side. This array will operate in the 1-50 MHz frequency range, which is inaccessible from Earth due to ionospheric interference. The primary goal of FarView is to measure the redshifted 21 cm signal from the Cosmic Dark Ages, a period in the early universe before the first stars and galaxies formed. This measurement is identified as a priority discovery area in the Astro2020 Decadal Survey, a community-driven consensus on the most pressing scientific questions in astronomy and astrophysics.
The proposed array consists of a dense core of 83,000 dipoles within a 4 km diameter, surrounded by a halo of 20,000 dipoles extending out to 14 km. This configuration is designed to maximize sensitivity to large-scale cosmological modes while providing the angular resolution and calibration necessary for foreground characterization. The researchers predict that FarView could achieve a 10-sigma detection of the Dark Ages 21 cm power spectrum at a redshift of 30 over five years of lunar night observations, operating at half duty cycle.
Beyond its primary cosmological goals, FarView will also enable a range of other scientific investigations. These include interferometric imaging of low-frequency solar radio bursts, advancing space weather studies; observations of stellar space weather; Galactic cosmic ray tomography via free-free absorption; and searches for auroral radio emission from exoplanet magnetospheres, which could provide insights into exoplanet habitability.
For the energy sector, the technologies and methodologies developed for FarView could have practical applications. For instance, the signal processing techniques used to handle the vast amounts of data from the array could be adapted for use in energy grid management and renewable energy integration. Additionally, the space weather studies enabled by FarView could provide valuable insights for protecting energy infrastructure on Earth from solar storms.
In summary, the FarView project represents a significant opportunity to establish the Moon as a platform for foundational astrophysics while delivering unique observational capabilities. The project’s success could pave the way for future lunar-based astronomical facilities and contribute to our understanding of the early universe and space weather.
This article is based on research available at arXiv.