This suitcase-sized spacecraft could hear the universe before stars existed
Researchers are developing a suitcase-sized satellite called CosmoCube to observe the 'Cosmic Dawn' period before the first stars formed. By orbiting the Moon, the satellite will avoid Earth's radio interference to detect faint signals from the early universe.
Why it matters
This mission could provide the first direct observations of the universe's transition from a dark void to a structure-filled cosmos.
A satellite no bigger than a small carry on suitcase could help scientists investigate one of the least understood periods in cosmic history: the roughly 150 million years of darkness before the universe's first stars began to shine.
Developed in the UK, the spacecraft is called CosmoCube. An international research team led by the University of Cambridge plans to send it around the Moon, where the lunar far side can block radio interference coming from Earth. In that unusually quiet environment, CosmoCube will listen for an extraordinarily faint signal left behind by the early universe.
Listening for a Signal From Before the First Stars
Scientists call this signal the 21 centimeter line. It comes from hydrogen atoms that existed during the period between the lingering afterglow of the Big Bang and Cosmic Dawn, when nuclear fusion switched on inside the first stars.
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